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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24101731">Will this song live on long after we do?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretflame/pseuds/secretflame'>secretflame</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pitch Perfect (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:55:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,900</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24101731</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretflame/pseuds/secretflame</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>She knew that there was something about Beca Mitchell from the moment she laid eyes on her at the Activities Fair.<br/>Maybe it was the thick black bracelet on her right wrist that didn't match the thin rope tied around her left. Or maybe it was the fact that she was wearing jeans even though it was August and they were in Atlanta. Or maybe it was that she looked like she was lost.<br/>Looking back, though, she'd say that it was that she looked nothing like a Bella. And maybe that was exactly what they needed.</p><p>(Or: let's remix this business)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She knew that there was just <em>something</em> about Beca Mitchell from the moment she laid eyes on her at the Activities Fair.</p>
<p>Maybe it was the thick black bracelet on her right wrist that didn't match the thin rope tied around her left. Or maybe it was the fact that she was wearing jeans even though it was August and they were in Atlanta. Or maybe it was that she looked like she was lost.</p>
<p>Looking back, though, she'd say that it was that she looked <em>nothing</em> like a Bella. And maybe that was exactly what they needed.</p>
<p>“What about her?” she asked Aubrey, who, she noted, looked more and more like she was going to be sick at any moment. Aubrey looked towards the girl that Chloe had pointed out and tried not to grimace.</p>
<p>“Oh, uh...I don't know, she looks a little too... “alternative”... for us.” Aubrey made sure to use finger quotes to emphasize “alternative”, and Chloe found herself fighting the urge to roll her eyes.</p>
<p>Instead, she held out a flyer to the girl and tried to seem as friendly as possible. “Hi! Any interest in joining our a capella group?”</p>
<p>The girl glanced down at the flyer in her hand, then looked back up at Chloe with a smile on her face that Chloe could tell was at least a little forced. “Oh right...this is like a <em>thing</em> now.”</p>
<p>“Oh totes!” Chloe replied, nodding her head. “We sing covers of songs, but we do it without instruments. It's all from our mouths.” She pointed towards her mouth with her pen, emphasizing her point.</p>
<p>The girl's smile faltered for a moment and Chloe could see her bite back the urge to laugh at them. She would be lying if she said it didn't hurt a little bit, but she could understand. And besides, at least she hadn't actually laughed like plenty of others had when she'd given her pitch to them that afternoon.</p>
<p>“Yikes,” the girl said, and Chloe could practically feel Aubrey tense next to her so she quickly continued with her pitch so that her best friend didn't speak first.</p>
<p>“There's four groups on campus. The Bellas, that's us. We're the tits.” She pointed her pen towards where the Harmonics had set up and watched as the girl glanced over to take in their popped collars and pastels. “The BU Harmonics. They sing a <em>lot</em> of Madonna.” She turned her head and gestured over her shoulder. “The High Notes. They're not particularly...motivated.” As if on cue, some of the High Notes chuckled, and Chloe turned around again so as to not attract further attention. “And then there's...”</p>
<p>“Let it whip!”</p>
<p>Chloe tried not to grimace as the Treblemakers finished their impromptu chorus. The fact that the guys hadn't even bothered to set up a booth at the fair had already irritated her for no good reason. She knew it was because they thought they were too “cool” for it- or, maybe it was because Bumper just wanted to show off. Either way...</p>
<p>She turned back again, catching Aubrey's eye on the way. They shared a knowing chuckle that just barely masked their irritation, and then Chloe looked back at the girl that stood in front of her, whose smile had been mostly replaced by a look that screamed “get me out of here.” She decided to push forward anyway. “So, are you interested?”</p>
<p>The smile returned, though it wasn't accompanied by anything Chloe wanted to hear. “Sorry, it's just...it's pretty lame.”</p>
<p><em>Uh oh</em>, Chloe thought, and she thought about warning the girl to <em>run</em> before Aubrey had the chance to lose her cool. But it was too late.</p>
<p>“Aca-scuse me?” Aubrey said, stepping just ever-so-slightly closer towards Chloe. “Synchronized lady-dancing to a Mariah Carey chart-topper is not <em>lame</em>.”</p>
<p>“We sing all over the world and compete in national championships,” Chloe quickly interjected, desperate for Aubrey to stop talking, if only because she was <em>pretty </em>sure that Mariah Carey was not going to be in this girl's wheelhouse.</p>
<p>“On purpose?” the girl asked incredulously, and as Chloe felt her heart sink a little more, she could also practically sense Aubrey's blood pressure going through the roof.</p>
<p>“We played the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, you bitch!”</p>
<p>The girl's eyebrows shot up, and Chloe wasn't sure if she was offended or impressed by Aubrey's comment. From the faint grin she saw, she was pretty sure she wasn't offended, but Chloe decided to proceed with caution just in case. “What Aubrey <em>means</em> to say-” she saw Aubrey turn to look at her out of the corner of her eye, but ignored her- “is that we are a close-knit, <em>talented </em>group of ladies whose dream is to return to the National finals at Lincoln Center this year.” She paused, trying to think of what she could possibly say to still salvage any hope of recruiting this girl. “Help us turn our dreams into a reality?”</p>
<p>She knew it was hopeless even as she said it, but she smiled anyway and tried to ignore how her voice had wanted to crack at the end.</p>
<p>“I'm sorry, I don't even sing. But it was really nice to meet you guys.”</p>
<p>And then she gone and Chloe looked down at her clipboard so that she didn't have to look at Aubrey.</p>
<p>“What are we going to do?” Aubrey eventually asked through gritted teeth.</p>
<p>Chloe gripped the clipboard, watching her knuckles go white. “Well, maybe <em>not</em> insulting the prospective recruits would be a little helpful next time?”</p>
<p>“Chloe, she insulted us first! She said that we were lame!”</p>
<p>Chloe just shook her head and looked back up at the crowd of students still milling about. Another freshman caught her eye and she forced the smile back onto her face as she stepped forward with a flyer in her outstretched hand. “Hi! Any interest in joining our a capella group?”</p>
<p>(She tried to ignore the contemptuous snort that came from her best friend)</p>
<hr/>
<p>Beca was pretty sure that she was having a stroke.</p>
<p>That was the only thing that could possibly explain why there was a buck-naked redhead in her shower looking at her with a crazed look in her eye.</p>
<p>“Dude!” Beca exclaimed, quickly covering her chest with her loofah with one hand and reaching for the shower curtain with the other. She drew it across, only for the intruder to open it again.</p>
<p>“How high does your belt go?” the still-extremely-naked girl asked, reaching past her to shut off the water.</p>
<p>“My <em>what?”</em> Beca glanced at the now turned-off valve before her eyes shot back up towards the girl. “Oh my god.”</p>
<p>“You <em>have</em> to audition for the Bellas,” the girl said, her tone extremely serious.</p>
<p>“I can't concentrate on anything you're saying until you cover your junk,” Beca said, trying to keep her eyes trained at the ceiling while also keeping her arms crossed tight across her chest.</p>
<p>“Just...consider it,” the redhead said. “One time, we sang backup for Prince.” Beca reached for the shower curtain, drawing it across herself while the girl kept talking. “His butt is so tiny that I could hold it with like, one hand.” She cupped her hand for emphasis.</p>
<p>A bottle of shampoo got knocked over, the sound echoing in the stall.</p>
<p>“Oops,” the redhead said, but Beca ignored her and quickly picked it up, choosing to turn herself around so that her back was facing the girl who didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon.</p>
<p>“Seriously?” Beca said, turning her head so that she could see what the girl (who, now that she got a good look at her, was definitely familiar) was doing. She tucked her head away again. “I am nude.”</p>
<p>“You were singing Titanium, right?”</p>
<p>Beca's ears perked up and she found herself looking back at the girl again. “You know David Guetta?” She fought the urge to wince at the excitement she could hear in her own voice.</p>
<p>“Have I been living under a rock? Yeah! That song is my jam!” She paused and leaned in closer to Beca. “My <em>lady</em> jam.”</p>
<p>Beca turned away again, feeling her face grow hot. “That's nice.”</p>
<p>“It is. That song really builds.” She winked at Beca, who offered a tight-lipped half-smile in return.</p>
<p>“Gross.”</p>
<p>“Can you sing it for me?”</p>
<p>“Dude, <em>no</em>! Get out!”</p>
<p>“Not for <em>that</em> reason,” the girl said. She widened her stance a little, her hands coming to rest on her hips. “I'm not leaving here until you sing, so.”</p>
<p>Beca bent her head for a moment, then looked back at her with another tight-lipped expression that was definitely not a smile. The girl sighed dramatically, and Beca <em>knew</em>. Just <em>knew </em>that she wasn't joking. She wasn't going to leave.</p>
<p>And so she turned around. Slowly, and with her arms still tight across her chest, she faced the redhead and tried not to look her in the eye as she began to sing. “Bulletproof, nothing to lose...”</p>
<p>“Fire away, fire away.”</p>
<p>Beca went for the lower octave while the redhead went higher. She knew she should have been surprised that the girl had joined in, but she wasn't; not at all, actually.</p>
<p>Her gaze locked onto the sky-blue eyes that hadn't looked away yet. “Ricochet, you take your aim...” She felt a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, but she fought it off. “Fire away, fire away.”</p>
<p>Their eyes didn't leave each others as they continued with the chorus. “Shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium.”</p>
<p>Beca found herself thinking about their harmony as they repeated the lines again. It was one that she would have added to the song if she had been re-mixing it; a missing component to the original that would elevate it even higher. And so she found that her voice rang out louder than she normally would have let it, the barest hint of a smile pulling at her lips as they finished. That smile grew bigger when the redhead grinned at her.</p>
<p>(<em>I should see if she'd be interested in recording some vocals)</em></p>
<p>But then she remembered where she was and <em>what</em> she had been doing, and she couldn't keep herself from glancing down at the taller girl's extremely-exposed body before she pursed her lips and quickly averted her gaze towards the ceiling again. That was apparently enough to cause the redhead to take the hint, because she looked down at herself. “Oh! Yeah.” She placed her hands on her hips again and looked back at Beca. “I'm pretty confident about...” she gestured towards herself. “All this.”</p>
<p>Beca tried not to smile, settling instead for an uncomfortable cross between a grin and a grimace. “You should be.”</p>
<p>The girl nodded at her and kept smiling for another moment before she said “Oh,” and turned around to grab Beca's towel off of the rack behind them. She turned and handed it to Beca, who took it and half-heartedly covered herself with it.</p>
<p>“I still need to...shower,” she whispered. And then, because this stroke apparently brought along its buddy, mister brain aneurysm, a guy peeked around the corner of the stall, also completely buck-ass naked.</p>
<p>“You have a lovely voice,” he said, and the redhead turned around to eagerly nod at him.</p>
<p>“<em>Thanks</em>,” Beca said, her tone all but screaming “get the fuck away from me.” He nodded at her in a manner that made it explicitly clear that he was checking her out, and she was fairly certain part of her soul died.</p>
<p>Beca shot the girl the most incredulous of looks, and eventually she took the hint. “Oh.” She exited the shower, leaving Beca standing there with a towel pressed against her chest and nothing but confusion in her head. She was pretty sure that it really <em>had </em>been a stroke until she heard the redhead call over from the other stall.</p>
<p>“See you at auditions!”</p>
<p>“Oh my <em>god</em>,” Beca whispered, her back pressed against the cold tile of the shower stall.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em> <b>Chloe Beale, 8:45 p.m.</b> </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Bree! I found the perfect addition to the Bellas!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Bree &lt;3, 8:47 p.m.</b> </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It better not be that alt chick, Chloe</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Chloe Beale, 8:53 p.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>…<em>....</em></p>
<hr/>
<p>Chloe expected that the next time she would see the mysterious singing freshman would be at auditions.</p>
<p>So when she caught a flash of brunette hair and red and gray checkered plaid out of the corner of her eye while heading to meet up with Aubrey for dinner after her biology class, she didn't expect to turn and have it actually be her.</p>
<p>But there she was, with her back pressed against the trunk of a tree and a laptop held on top of her knees. A pair of ridiculously large headphones rested over her ears, and as Chloe watched, her head bobbed along to whatever she happened to be listening to.</p>
<p>God, Chloe really wanted to know what she was listening to.</p>
<p>It was that desire that found her veering from her course across the quad towards the tree the freshman was lounging against. And it was that desire that had her tossing her own bag onto the ground before she plopped herself down beside her.</p>
<p>“Hey!”</p>
<p>The freshman jerked away, and Chloe quickly realized that, somehow, she hadn't heard her approach. “Dude!” The laptop started to slip from her knees, and Chloe found herself reaching out at the same time as the girl to grab it before it could hit the ground. “What the hell?”</p>
<p>“Oops! Sorry about that!” Chloe smiled at her, letting go of the laptop as soon as she was sure the other girl had a good grip on it. “I guess you didn't see me come up, huh?”</p>
<p>“Definitely not!” The girl sat up straighter, lowering the lid of the laptop enough that Chloe couldn't see what was on the screen. She pulled the headphones off of her ears, moving them so that they wrapped around her neck before turning her head to glare at Chloe. “What do you want?”</p>
<p>Chloe tried not to feel hurt by the edge in the girl's voice. “Just thought I'd say hi! And to see what you were listening to, because you looked like you were really enjoying it, and-”</p>
<p>“Are you stalking me?”</p>
<p>Chloe blinked, the words she had been about to say dying on her lips. “What?”</p>
<p>The girl angled herself so she was as far away from the redhead as possible. “Are you stalking me? Because, like, I'm pretty sure you're stalking me.”</p>
<p>The smile threatened to fall from Chloe's face, but she tried to keep it from wavering. “I'm not stalking you. Why would you even think that?”</p>
<p>She was met with a pair of arched eyebrows and an incredulous expression. “Are you serious, dude?” Her voice dropped so that it was almost a whisper, and Chloe watched her eyes dart around them quickly. “Dude, complete strangers don't just drop in on people while they're in the shower! Or scare them half to death while they're minding their own business!”</p>
<p>Chloe rolled her eyes.“Fine! Let's not be strangers, then. I'm Chloe Beale!” She stuck out her hand. “And you are?”</p>
<p>The girl glanced at her hand, but made no move to shake it. “I'm not telling you my name.”</p>
<p>“Why not?” Chloe said, jutting out her bottom lip in a pout that might not have been completely exaggerated.</p>
<p>“I don't want to make it easier for you to stalk me!”</p>
<p>“I'm not stalking you!” A few of the passing students around them turned their heads at that, and Chloe winced as she watched the girl hide her face in her hands. “Oops. Guess that was a little loud, huh?”</p>
<p>“What do I have to do to make you go away?” The girl asked, her words muffled by her hands.</p>
<p>“Oh, come on, stop being so overdramatic.”</p>
<p>Stormy blue eyes peeked at her through parted fingers. “I'm so <em>not</em> being overdramatic.”</p>
<p>“Yes, you are.” Chloe waved her hand, watching the girl's eyes dart towards it for just a moment. “You know who I am now, so if you really think I'm stalking you, you're free to go make a report with campus police. But, and I stress this, it's kind of hard to stalk someone whose name you don't even know, so....”</p>
<p>“Well, you've done a fine job of it so far,” the girl muttered, but she let her hands fall away from her face.</p>
<p>“Completely coincidental, I promise you,” Chloe said. She wished that she wouldn't have stubbornly put her hand out, because her arm was really beginning to ache from holding it there. But there was no way she was giving up <em>now</em>. “So, how about that name, huh?”</p>
<p>“You're insane.”</p>
<p>Chloe shrugged. “I mean, it's possible, but I don't think I am.”</p>
<p>The girl pursed her lips, and Chloe saw her eyes glance towards her outstretched hand again. “If I tell you my name, will you go away?”</p>
<p><em>Ouch. </em>She tried to not let the hurt show in her expression, but by the slight softening of the girl's hard features, she knew she had failed. “If that's what you want.”</p>
<p>There was a brief pause, then a heavy sigh. “Fine.” The girl reached out and gripped Chloe's hand for the briefest of moments before pulling it away again. “Beca.”</p>
<p>“Beca....?”</p>
<p>“I'm not telling you my last name, dude.” Her lip quirked upwards so quickly that Chloe wasn't even sure she had seen it, but the playful twinkle that remained in her eye told her that she had. “Last names cost extra.”</p>
<p>“Well, <em>Beca</em>,” Chloe said, drawing out her name just long enough for the freshman to groan. “Name your price, and I'll see if I can match it.”</p>
<p>Beca rolled her eyes and reached up to grip her headphones. She didn't pull them back onto her head right away, though. “I'll invoice you.”</p>
<p>Chloe fought the urge to roll her own eyes, and instead reached for her bag. She opened it and began to rummage through it.</p>
<p>“What are you doing <em>now</em>?” she heard Beca ask, a slight whine in her voice.</p>
<p>“One second!” she replied, pulling a notebook and pen out of her bag. She quickly jotted something down on the corner of one page before tearing it out and holding it out to Beca. “Here's my number. You know, so you have somewhere to send that invoice.” She winked, and felt a surge of satisfaction rise in her chest as she watched the younger girl blush.</p>
<p>“You have the weirdest methods of trying to recruit people into that sorority of yours',” Beca said, but she took the scrap of paper anyway, tucking it into the front pocket of her jeans. Chloe hoped that meant that she would program it into her phone later.</p>
<p>“The Bellas are <em>not</em> a sorority, we're an a capella group, and I don't need to recruit you because I already know you're coming to auditions.” Chloe glanced at her watch, then, realizing that she had, in fact, been heading somewhere before making her detour. “Shoot! I have to go.”</p>
<p>She had risen to her feet and closed her bag before Beca finally had the chance to say anything. “Dude, I'm <em>not</em> coming to auditions!”</p>
<p>Chloe pretended that she didn't hear her. “I'll see you there!” She turned her head, grinning as she met Beca's perplexed gaze. “It was nice to officially meet you, Beca.”</p>
<p>She turned back and began to walk away, ignoring the grumbling she could just barely hear coming from the freshman behind her. And then:</p>
<p>“I'm not joining your cult, Beale!”</p>
<p>Chloe just smiled and continued walking.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <b> <em>Unknown Number, 10:57 p.m. </em></b>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I'm serious, Beale. It's not happening. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Chloe Beale, 11:01 p.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Hopefully this is Becca and not some random person who found my number written on a bathroom stall? Either way, it's definitely happening.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Unknown Number, 11:33 p.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Is your number usually written on bathroom stalls? Because I have some concerns about that</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Chloe Beale, 11:35 p.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You're totally deflecting...and even though you technically haven't confirmed your identity I'm going to put you in my phone as “Becca ?” and hope for the best</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Becca ?, 11:43 p.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Is the question mark because you're still not sure that it's me, or because you haven't earned my last name yet? Also it's spelled *Beca*. And we're definitely circling back to that bathroom stall comment at some point</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Chloe Beale, 11:45 p.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Well, I mean, you just confirmed that it's you, so</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Beca ?, 11:53 p.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Do you enjoy being a pain in the ass?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b> Chloe Beale, 11:55 p.m.</b> </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Immensely. Also, you texted me first so really, this is on you.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Beca ?, 12:45 a.m</b>.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It definitely is NOT. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b> Chloe Beale, 7:13 a.m.</b> </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Is too</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Beca ?, 10:54 a.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Why are you like this</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Chloe Beale, 10:57 a.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You know you love it</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Beca ?, 11:07 a.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Nope. Not even a little bit. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Chloe Beale, 11:15 a.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You do. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Chloe Beale, 11:16 a.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Also you still haven't sent me that invoice yet</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Beca ?, 11:21 a.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>…<em>..</em></p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Beca ?, 11:23 a.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Don't hold your breath</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>She didn't really know why she had texted Chloe. She certainly hadn't planned to; when the redhead had given her her number, Beca had taken it with the expectation of tossing it into the nearest trashbin when she got the chance. But she hadn't done that, and later that night after Kimmy Jin had gone to bed, Beca had pulled the scrap of paper out of her jeans and programmed the number into her phone and then, for some ungodly reason, decided to text her. She blamed her boredom.</p>
<p>That had started the back-and-forth exchange that had kept Beca's phone buzzing in her pocket during her Intro to Philosophy class. It wasn't like she gave a single fuck about philosophy so she sat in the back row and kept texting Chloe just because it gave her something to do that didn't involve old dead guys who, in her opinion, just needed to get laid more so that they could focus on something other than metaphysical and metaphorical bullshit.</p>
<p>Her last message had been pure bait, intended to see how the older girl would respond to a challenge, but she had sent it over ten minutes ago and still hadn't gotten a response and she was beginning to worry that she had gone too far and actually made Chloe give up. Not that she would really care, of course, but-</p>
<p>Her phone lit up with a new notification, and she quickly grabbed it so she could read it.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 11:37 a.m.</b> </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Fine, but you should know that I have *crazy* lungs, so I can hold my breath for a really long time</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>Beca rolled her eyes and was about to start typing back a reply when she heard the professor clear his throat. She looked up and realized that the professor (whose name she hadn't bothered to learn) was staring right at her with his arms crossed and with the same stern look on his face that she had seen on her own father's earlier in the week when he had reprimanded her for not “trying something new.”</p>
<p>“Is my lecture on Descartes interrupting something, Miss...” he trailed off, and Beca realized that he had no clue who she was, which made sense considering this was maybe the third time she had actually shown up for his class.</p>
<p>“No, sir,” she answered quickly, shoving her phone into her pocket as inconspicuously as possible. She tried to ignore the tittering and staring of her classmates' as they watched the exchange, but her cheeks had already begun to burn from embarrassment.</p>
<p>“I should hope not,” the professor said, keeping his gaze focused solely on Beca. “And just as a reminder for <em>everyone</em>, this is a device-free class! Phones should be turned off and away, people!”</p>
<p>He finally turned around, and Beca let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.</p>
<p>“Nice going,” she heard the guy next to her say under his breath, but she chose to ignore him.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em> <b>Beca, 12:15 p.m.</b> </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You totally got me in trouble during my class, dude</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>She sent the text while she was walking back to Baker. Hopefully, Kimmy Jin would still be in class and she would be able to have the room to herself for once and maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to actually work on the mix that she had been trying to work on when Chloe had interrupted her yesterday.</p>
<p>The phone buzzed in her hand before she even got halfway across the quad.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 12:17 p.m.</b> </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Got caught looking at your phone?That doesn't really sound like it's my fault</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>She began to type out a response, ready to list the reasons why it was absolutely Chloe's fault, but then her phone buzzed again.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 12:17 p.m.</b> </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Also, wanna grab lunch? My treat</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>Beca stopped walking and re-read the message, the sharp words that she had begun to type staring up at her from the screen. She deleted them, then read Chloe's text again.</p>
<p>“Keep walking or get the hell off the sidewalk!” she heard someone say behind her, and she realized that she was still standing in the middle of the walkway. She moved to the side, letting the obviously irritated guy walk past her, not bothering to look up to see the stink eye he was throwing in her direction.</p>
<p>She decided that she was going to turn Chloe down. Simple as that. That way, she wouldn't have to listen to whatever spiel the older girl had prepared about why her weird-ass singing group was <em>so awesome</em> and she could just go on with her life without having to think about fucking a capella. And who cared if her dad wanted her to join a club? It wasn't like there weren't a billion and a half other clubs on campus. Hell, she could probably tell him that she joined the chess club or something. It wasn't like he was going to check, right?</p>
<p>She started to type out her reply, debating whether or not she should apologize for turning her down, when her stomach growled.</p>
<p>Right. She hadn't eaten yet. Like, at all. She had chosen to sleep in rather than seek out breakfast, like she had done most days since arriving on the Barden campus.</p>
<p>But that was no matter. She could always just go to the dining hall and grab something, right?</p>
<p>But then she actually thought about the food at the dining hall and how it never seemed to be quite the right color or texture and she was pretty sure that she had once seen a hair in her salad and her stomach began to turn.</p>
<p>Shit.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em> <b>Beca ?, 12:21 p.m.</b> </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Fine. Where did you have in mind?</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>The Peach Pit wasn't the most popular restaurant in town, and it certainly wasn't the fanciest. But Chloe had loved it from the minute she stepped into it for the first time during her freshman year, when she and Aubrey had been wandering around in the early morning hours after their Bellas initiation, both drunk off their asses and in desperate need of a cheeseburger. Aubrey had wrinkled her nose in barely-disguised disgust when they walked inside but Chloe reminded her that she had literally just drank god-knows-what out of a goblet that was probably never cleaned and apparently that was enough to get her to get over some of her reservations because she sat down in the booth and let Chloe order her a burger without complaint. And maybe it was because they were both teetering on the edge of blackout, but they both agreed that the food was delicious.</p>
<p>(“It's fucking delicious,” was Aubrey's exact phrasing, and Chloe had slapped her hand over her mouth in shock because it had been the first time she had heard her roommate drop the f-bomb. That led to both of them dissolving into a fit of giggles that certainly annoyed the few other people who decided that a diner was the best place to be at two in the morning. It was one of Chloe's favorite memories.)</p>
<p>But Aubrey wasn't there now, and Chloe had made sure that she hadn't told her where she was going when she had texted her with an apology and a promise to have dinner together instead of lunch, like they had planned. The text she had gotten back had been full of questions and thinly-veiled irritation, but Chloe decided to hold off on answering until after she had lunch with Beca.</p>
<p>She honestly hadn't expected the freshman to take her up on her offer. Hell, she hadn't even really given much thought to the offer itself because she was so sure that she was going to get turned down. But then Beca had said yes and asked her where she wanted to go and Chloe had sent her the directions to The Peach Pit and hoped that the dingy diner wouldn't scare her off.</p>
<p>The bell above the door rang, and Chloe looked up towards the entrance quickly, hoping that it would be Beca who had walked in. Unlike the first five times that the bell had rang, where Chloe had looked expectantly towards the door only to find that the person walking in was certainly <em>not</em> Beca, this time Chloe's eyes landed on a pair of familiar headphones and she stood up.</p>
<p>“Beca!” she waved, trying to catch the girl's attention. “Over here!”</p>
<p>She saw the younger girl roll her eyes from across the diner, but she walked over and shrugged her backpack onto the bench opposite of Chloe before sliding in next to it. “Hey.”</p>
<p>“Hey!” Chloe sat back down and smoothed out the skirt of her dress. “Glad you could make it!”</p>
<p>Beca leaned back against the hard red plastic of the booth, crossing her arms. “Well, it was either this or suffering through the sludge that they serve at the dining hall, so...”</p>
<p>“Yeah, it's so gross, right?” Chloe pushed her menu across the table. “Here, choose whatever you want, it's on me.”</p>
<p>Beca's eyebrow rose as she picked up the menu. “You know that buying me lunch doesn't mean you get to learn my last name, right?”</p>
<p>Chloe sighed, propping her elbow on the table and resting her cheek against her hand. “It was worth a shot.”</p>
<p>Beca's eyes remained on her for a moment before she glanced down at the menu. “Why do you want to know it so badly, anyway?”</p>
<p>“Because! It's kind of silly to be friends with someone and not know their last name, Beca.”</p>
<p>Steel-blue eyes shot back up to glare at her. “We're not friends, Beale.”</p>
<p>“Sure we are! Or, at least, we're going to be.”</p>
<p>“Don't I get a say in this?”</p>
<p>Chloe shrugged, letting her arm drop so it could fold across the other on top of the table. “I mean, I guess, but considering you showed up here I can't imagine that you don't want to be friends with me.”</p>
<p>“I wanted a free lunch.”</p>
<p>“Uh huh.” Chloe looked up and saw a waitress approaching them. “Hi!”</p>
<p>The waitress, a middle-aged woman named Nancy who, after three years, was used to seeing Chloe Beale sitting in her booths, smiled sweetly at them. “Chloe! How you doin', sugar?”</p>
<p>“Doing great, Nancy! How are you and Charles?”</p>
<p>“We're doin' just fine, honey.” She nodded towards Beca. “You've got a fresh face with you today!”</p>
<p>“This is Beca! She just started at Barden,” Chloe said, beaming in Beca's direction. Beca shrank down in her seat, her discomfort evident in the way she tried to make herself smaller than she already was.</p>
<p>“Hi,” she said meekly, gripping the menu a little tighter and closer.</p>
<p>“Nice to meet ya, darlin'! How you likin' Barden so far?”</p>
<p>“Oh, uh, it's....” Beca trailed off, and Chloe could have sworn that the freshman looked almost queasy. “Fine?”</p>
<p>Nancy's eyebrow crept up, and although she didn't stop smiling, it was evident that there was a slight edge to it. “Oh?”</p>
<p>Chloe decided to step in before the younger girl had the chance to panic even more. “She just hasn't had the chance to have the full Barden experience yet, you know? It took a little while for Georgia to grow on me, too, but look at me now! Don't worry, I'm going to make sure she loves it here just as much as I do!”</p>
<p>Beca shot her a look, but Chloe didn't acknowledge it because Nancy's eyebrows had come back down and her smile grew warm again as she looked at Beca. “Barden is a lovely place, darlin'. And you've definitely found the right girl to show you that.” She leaned in towards Beca, hiding the side of her face behind her notepad. “She's a real sweet girl, that Chloe is,” she said, almost whispering but not quite. Beca's cheeks flushed pink and she looked like she was trying to think of <em>something</em> to say to that, but then Nancy winked at her and straightened up, turning back to Chloe. “So what can I get you two?”</p>
<p>Chloe arched an eyebrow at the waitress, but gave her her order and her menu. Beca mumbled hers' as well, though from the uncertain look on the freshman's face, Chloe was fairly certain that she just chose the first thing she saw on the page without thinking about it. Nancy wrote them down and promised she'd be back soon with their drinks before sauntering away from their table.</p>
<p>“You're so adorable when you're nervous,” Chloe said, and Beca shot her another look.</p>
<p>“I was <em>not</em> nervous,” she said, crossing her arms. “Or adorable,” she muttered, almost as an afterthought.</p>
<p>“Oh, really? Not nervous at all?” Chloe leaned forward. “Then what would you call it, because I don't think I've ever seen anyone look like they were going to puke just because a waitress asked how they liked their school before.”</p>
<p>“I didn't...” Beca began, but Chloe was giving her <em>that</em> look again, the look that she received in the shower that day when she reminded the redhead that she was nude, and so she cut herself off and glared at her. “Why do you keep looking at me like that?”</p>
<p>“Like what?”</p>
<p>“Like I'm some kind of shiny new toy for you to play with.”</p>
<p>“Is that not what you are?” Chloe joked, but from the look on Beca's face it was obvious that she didn't find it funny, so she held her hands up in front of her. “Sorry, I was just kidding. But seriously, Beca, I'm not sure what you're talking about. I'm just looking at you.”</p>
<p>Beca was about to respond, but then Nancy was back and placing their drinks in front of them, and whatever she had been about to say disappeared. Instead, she picked up her Coke and took a sip, keeping her eyes trained on the bubbles in her glass rather than daring to look back up at Chloe.</p>
<p>Chloe took a sip of her own drink (a vanilla coke with actual vanilla syrup) and wondered again why Beca had actually taken her up on her lunch offer. But she didn't ask.</p>
<p>It was Beca who spoke first, much to Chloe's surprise. “Why did you ask me to lunch, Beale?”</p>
<p>Chloe had been in the middle of a sip when Beca spoke, so she took the time to swallow and set her glass down before answering. “I told you. I want us to be friends.”</p>
<p>“But why?”</p>
<p>She shrugged like the answer should have been obvious. “Why not?”</p>
<p>“You don't even know me.”</p>
<p>“So? That's the point of becoming friends with people, Beca. You get to know them.”</p>
<p>Beca finally looked away from her drink and Chloe was once again struck by how <em>dark</em> her eyes were. “Why don't you drop the act and just say that you're desperate for singers for that stupid group of yours'? It would save you the trouble of having to pretend that you'd want to be friends with me.”</p>
<p>Her words were cold and biting and so unexpected that Chloe wasn't sure if she should be heartbroken or pissed off. “What?”</p>
<p>And then Nancy was back, sliding plates in front of them. “Here you go, darlins! Turkey club for you, Chloe, and a BLT for Miss Beca.”</p>
<p>“Thanks, Nancy,” Chloe said, somehow managing to force a smile.</p>
<p>“Y'all enjoy now!” Nancy walked away again, seemingly oblivious to the tension that hung in the air between the two girls.</p>
<p>Beca picked up her fork, poking at the pickle on her plate with pursed lips and hunched shoulders and an absolute refusal to look back up at Chloe. “Look, I appreciate you buying me lunch and all, but...”</p>
<p>“Shut up, Beca.” Chloe hadn't bothered to touch her food yet, choosing instead to cross her arms tight across her chest with her hands gripping her elbows.“I don't know what your problem is, or why you feel the need to accuse me of anything, but if you haven't noticed, I haven't even brought up the Bellas since we sang together. You're the one who keeps bringing us up. So I'd appreciate if you'd give me the slightest benefit of the doubt and accept that I don't have any ulterior motives here other than wanting to get to know you. And if you don't want that, that's fine. Lunch is still on me.” She watched Beca glance towards the aisle and for a moment was sure that she was going to get up and leave. But she didn't move, and so Chloe kept going. “But you texted me first, remember? So I'm pretty sure there's at least a little part of you that wants to get to know me, too.”</p>
<p>Silence fell over their booth, broken only by the muffled conversations of the other diners around them and the clattering of pans in the kitchen. Chloe watched as Beca turned her attention back to her plate, pushing the pickle around some more before she sighed. “Mitchell.”</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“My last name is Mitchell.” Beca speared the pickle on the tines of the fork and took a bite out of it, chewing slowly and swallowing before looking back up at Chloe. She didn't speak again, though, and Chloe eventually realized that she wasn't going to.</p>
<p>“Oh.” She let her hands fall away from her elbows, feeling the tension in her shoulders release as the younger girl took another bite out of her pickle. “Beca Mitchell, huh? That's a nice name.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, well, don't wear it out,” Beca grumbled, but Chloe could see the hint of a smirk at the corner of her mouth.</p>
<p>They didn't speak again for a few minutes, each pretending to be more focused on their sandwiches than each other. But the tension had mostly dissipated and after she had eaten half of her turkey club, Chloe began asking inconsequential questions and Beca had answered most of them, and by the time she had paid the check and they were saying goodbye, she knew at least five new things about Beca Mitchell.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Those five things were, in Chloe's determined order of importance:</p>
<p>5. She was from Portland, Oregon</p>
<p>4. She was an only child</p>
<p>3. She didn't like tomatoes (this wasn't an actual question that she answered, but Chloe had paid attention to the way she had removed each slice from her BLT like they were practically poison)</p>
<p>2. She hadn't declared a major yet</p>
<p>And the most important thing (and the one that Chloe was most determined to change):</p>
<p>1. Beca Mitchell really, really didn't want to be at Barden University</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There were about a million other ways Beca could have spent her Saturday afternoon. She could have taken another shift at the radio station. She could have worked on writing her philosophy paper. Hell, she could have asked Kimmy Jin if she wanted to hang out and play that weird tennis video game that she and her Korean Club friends always seemed to be playing.</p>
<p>Okay so maybe that last one was a bit of a stretch, but at least it would have been better than having to listen to a bunch of tone-deaf nerds screeching out Kelly Clarkson.</p>
<p>Hell, she didn't even know why she was there. She had told Chloe that she wasn't coming, so it wasn't like she was expected to show up. And she seriously did <em>not</em> want anything to do with a capella. Like, who even <em>liked </em>a capella?</p>
<p>(Other than Chloe, of course)</p>
<p>She hadn't planned on showing up at all. She had sat in her room and purposefully ignored the clock when it turned to 3:00 because there was absolutely no way in hell she was going to the auditions. She maintained that conviction at 3:15 and 3:30 as well. But then it was 3:45 and she could hear her dad chastising her in her mind and if sucking it up and singing a song for a bunch of weirdos meant that he would pay for her to go to LA, then she should probably just go sing that song.</p>
<p>It wasn't like they would ever choose her, anyway. The stuck-up blonde who had been with Chloe at the activities fair obviously hadn't liked her, and Beca was fairly certain that she was not going to like the fact that she didn't even bother to prepare “Since U Been Gone.” In fact, she was banking on it. Hopefully her dad would accept her auditioning as “putting herself out there” and stop pushing the issue and she would be able to go back to focusing on her music.</p>
<p>Just one song. That's it. Hell, it didn't even have to be <em>good</em>. She could just throw the audition and it would be fine and-</p>
<p>“Okay, that's everybody!”</p>
<p>Beca's ears perked up, and she realized that in her attempts to block out everyone else who was auditioning, she had managed to miss the fact that they had <em>stopped</em> singing. Shit.</p>
<p>Her feet were moving forward before she had the chance to stop them, taking her out of the shadows that she had been lurking in. She spotted Chloe sitting next to that blonde chick, noting that both of them looked less-than-thrilled, and she was about to say something to get their attention when Chloe spotted her.</p>
<p>“Oh, wait! There's one more!” she heard Chloe say to the two guys on stage. And then she was turning back to Beca and flashing her the most excited smile she had ever seen and Beca knew she was fucked because there was no way that she would be able to throw the audition and risk disappointing her now. “Hi!”</p>
<p>Chloe had waved at her and so she returned it awkwardly. “Hello.”</p>
<p>Chloe motioned her forward, and Beca realized that she was moving way too slowly. “Um...I didn't know that we had to prepare that song.” A lie, of course. It had been on all the flyers that were posted in seemingly every bathroom stall on campus (and on the one that was currently lying on Beca's desk).</p>
<p>But if Chloe knew she was lying, she didn't show it. Instead, she gave her a reassuring wave, the smile still on her face. “That's okay! Sing anything you want.”</p>
<p><em>Of course she'd be accommodating, </em>Beca thought. She knelt down on the stage and pointed towards the yellow cup of pens on the desk in front of them. “Uh...may I?”</p>
<p>She ignored the look on the blonde's face and focused on Chloe, who was already nodding and motioning for her to take it. So she did, dumping the pens on the desk as carefully as she could, wincing as some of them rolled away. Then she crossed her legs beneath her and tried to get as situated as possible before throwing a nervous grimace in Chloe's direction.</p>
<p>And then she started clapping.</p>
<p>She didn't look up right away, choosing instead to focus on the rhythm of claps and cup movements, but she wished that she had because then she would have been able to see the look on the blonde chick's face and she just <em>knew</em> that it had to have been hilarious. As it was, when she did cast a glance towards them, the blonde looked like she was ready to snap her pen in half.</p>
<p>Chloe didn't look like that, though. Chloe still looked excited. And when Beca finally started singing, she looked almost contemplative. She was barely smiling anymore, at least, not the toothy smile that she had flashed at Beca earlier, but she was nodding in a way that made Beca feel like she was doing <em>something </em>right.</p>
<p>It wasn't a long audition at all; just one verse, actually. She could have done the whole song, and had done so when she had practiced it in her room during the rare instances when Kimmy Jin was gone, but there was a spotlight on her and definitely more than just two pairs of eyes and if one verse wasn't enough than that was too damn bad.</p>
<p>She ended the song with an echoing slap of the cup against the stage and crossed her hands on her legs before looking up at them with a slump of the shoulders and an expression that she hoped said “there you go” but that she feared read more along the lines of “I'm about to have a panic attack.”</p>
<p>The looks she got in return were vastly different. The blonde didn't look like she was going to break anything anymore, but Beca didn't really care for the pensive pursing of the lips that had replaced it.</p>
<p>Chloe, though. Chloe was <em>beaming. </em></p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <b>Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 8:37 p.m.</b>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Beca! Oh my god! That was so amazing, holy shit! I knew you could sing, obviously, but!!!! I didn't think you were going to show up????</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 8:38 p.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh, also, I'm outside your dorm and you have about two minutes before I knock on your door and I'd suggest changing into normal clothes in that time if you're not already wearing some!</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <b> Beca, 8:40 p.m.</b>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Wait, what???</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>“You are literally the<em> worst</em>, Beale,” Beca whined for what felt like the fiftieth time, stumbling when her foot caught against an uneven segment of the sidewalk.</p>
<p>“Oh, hush,” Chloe said, tightening the hold she had on Beca's arm so that she didn't go flying into a shrub. “Just be thankful that I offered to come get you and not Aubrey, because she would be a lot less gentle than I am.”</p>
<p>“You're <em>kidnapping me</em>, Chloe!” Beca raised her voice, twisting her head from side to side in a vain attempt to attract the attention of any passerby that she couldn't see beneath the hood. “Help! I didn't consent to this!”</p>
<p>Chloe sighed and stopped walking. The sudden lack of motion caused Beca to pitch forward again, but just like before, Chloe's grip prevented her from falling. “Dude!”</p>
<p>“If I take the hood off, will you stop complaining?”</p>
<p>Beca nodded vigorously. “Yep, definitely.”</p>
<p>“Promise that you're not just going to try and escape again?”</p>
<p>“Cross my heart.”</p>
<p>The second that the hood was off her head, Beca broke that promise, wrenching herself out of Chloe's grasp and whirling around so that she could run back to Baker.</p>
<p>Chloe had been expecting that, though. So instead of standing there dumbfounded with the hood in her hand, she tackled Beca. She had made sure neither of them ended up face-down on the concrete, but in doing so, she caused them to fall into a hedge.</p>
<p>“Oh, come <em>on!</em>” she heard Beca groan, and she smiled despite the irritation she felt about having to resort to such drastic measures.</p>
<p>“You're the one who tried to run!”</p>
<p>“Yeah, well, you were kidnapping me!” Beca tried to get up, but Chloe's weight was still on top of her, pinning her against the shrubbery. “I'm literally eating leaves here, Chloe!”</p>
<p>“Should have thought about that before trying to make a run for it, Becs!”</p>
<p>“Oh, so now you're using nicknames? What kind of Stockholm-syndrome game are you trying to play here, Beale!?”</p>
<p>Chloe rolled her eyes and pulled the still-struggling freshman out of the hedge. The hedge hadn't been thorny (thank god) but it had still managed to leave tiny scratches on both of their arms. Beca had gotten the worst of it, though, and Chloe found herself reaching out to pluck a leaf out of her hair. Her other hand, though, remained firmly grasped around Beca's wrist. “You promised that you weren't going to try and escape, Beca. It's not my fault that you broke that promise.”</p>
<p>Beca glared at her, twisting her wrist in a half-hearted attempt to break free again. “I didn't realize that auditioning for a freaking a capella group meant that I'd be <em>taken against my will!</em>”</p>
<p>“So you didn't read the fine print at the bottom of the audition flyer?”</p>
<p>“There wasn't any fine print,” Beca muttered, and Chloe shot her a knowing smirk.</p>
<p>“Didn't know that you had to prepare that song, huh?” she said, leaning closer so that she could brush a twig off of Beca's shoulder. Beca groaned again, and Chloe was pretty sure she saw a hint of red on her cheeks.</p>
<p>“Dude, look, I...”</p>
<p>Chloe shook her head and began pulling them along the path again. “You're not exactly a Kelly Clarkson type of girl anyway.”</p>
<p>Beca shot her an offended look. “I could sing Kelly Clarkson if I wanted to!”</p>
<p>“I didn't say that you couldn't!” They came to a stop at a crosswalk, and even though there weren't any cars around, it was obvious that Chloe wasn't going to walk across until the little walking man symbol turned on. “Also, you totally have to teach me that cup routine sometime, okay?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, okay.” Beca glanced down at the hood that Chloe held in her other hand, realizing that she hadn't been made to put it back on. “Uh, so, are you going to get in trouble if I'm not wearing that...<em>thing</em>?”</p>
<p>“Oh, you're going to wear it,” Chloe replied. The little walking man appeared, and they began to cross the street. “But honestly, it's easier to get you there if you're not tripping over everything, so I won't make you put it back on until we're outside. Just don't tell Aubrey.”</p>
<p>“Outside of <em>where?” </em></p>
<p>Chloe just grinned and continued to lead her forward.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Beca should have known that things were going to get weird from the second Chloe had shown up outside her door with a hood in her hand and that grin that stretched from ear to ear. And sure, the whole “being led across campus in a hood” thing was fucking <em>weird</em>. But not as weird as the initiation ritual that she and the rest of her ragtag cohort had just been made to go through.</p>
<p>The hood had gone back on once they reached their destination, which, if the sign outside was any indication, was just a gymnasium. But the excitement pouring off of Chloe had been enough to make Beca not complain too much when the hood came back on over her head.</p>
<p>“This sucks,” she had muttered, and Chloe had shushed her before leading her inside.</p>
<p>And then there had been a dramatic removal of the hoods, and a forced drinking of “the blood of the sisters before them” (which Beca was adamant about not drinking until Chloe leaned over and whispered that it was just Boone's Farm), and then a recitation of a really weird creed that for some ungodly reason focused way too much on their sex lives.</p>
<p>(There had also been a <em>lot</em> of candles for some reason, and all she could think about were all those damn fire safety seminars that the University required them to sit through at the beginning of the term)</p>
<p>Then there was a lot of screaming and cheering and Beca was pretty sure that that Fat Amy chick chugged the rest of the Boone's blood and suddenly she was a Barden Bella.</p>
<p>It would have already been way too much if the night had ended there, but of course there was more. There was <em>always</em> more.</p>
<p>Aca-initiation Night, as Aubrey had called it, turned out to be a party held in an outdoor arena, with members of all the a capella groups on campus (Beca still couldn't get over the fact that there were <em>multiple</em> groups of people who wanted to do this shit) stumbling around and mingling with each other. It was fine, she guessed. A party was a party, even if she still didn't know what she was doing there and was certainly far less excited than literally everyone else.</p>
<p>And talking about excitement-</p>
<p>“Becaw!”</p>
<p>Fucking Jesse.</p>
<p>The dude was persistent, she had to give him that. And he really wasn't too bad when he wasn't making really lame pop culture jokes or trying to ask her a million and a half questions that she was never going to answer or singing to himself <em>constantly </em>but he was also apparently a really flirtatious drunk and she was not nearly inebriated enough to deal with his comments about how they were destined to have “aca-children.”</p>
<p>But she didn't have to put up with him for long before he got distracted with fetching drinks for them both (something she hoped would take a long time). She thought she was going to get a moment of reprieve, or at least silence, after he left, but that hope was dashed when Chloe Beale appeared out of nowhere and took the place where Jesse had been standing only a moment before.</p>
<p>“Hi!” Chloe said, grabbing both of Beca's wrists in her hands.</p>
<p>“Oh!” Beca didn't have to time to stop herself from being tugged towards the redhead. She was distinctly aware of how close their faces were- hell, she could smell the vodka and fruit on Chloe's breath. The grip that Chloe had on her wrists was surprisingly strong, though, and she knew it would be pointless to try and break free.</p>
<p>“I am <em>so </em>glad that I met you,” Chloe said, her voice airy and excited. She leaned in closer, forehead almost touching Beca's. “I think we're going to be really fast friends.”</p>
<p>“Yeah? Well, you saw me naked, so,” Beca replied, throwing in a wink without thinking about it. “Also haven't you already decreed that we're friends, Beale?”</p>
<p>Chloe's grin grew wider. “I sure did! See, I told you that we'd be fast!”</p>
<p>“You're drunk,” Beca said with a laugh, and Chloe nodded.</p>
<p>“Oh, totes.” She let go of one of Beca's wrists, keeping the other firmly in her grasp. “Come on! This ginger needs her jiggle juice, and <em>you </em>need to start catching up!”</p>
<p>Beca let herself be dragged along down the risers and towards an obscenely large trashcan filled with what looked to be fruit punch with slices of oranges, limes, and pineapples floating on the surface. Chloe finally let go of her so that she could grab two plastic cups. She dipped them into the trash can before turning and handing Beca one that had an orange slice. “Here!”</p>
<p>Beca looked down at the drink in her hand and wrinkled her nose. “There's absolutely no way I'm drinking something that came from the garbage, Beale.”</p>
<p>“It's jungle juice, Becs! See, look.” Chloe took a sip from her own cup, swallowing dramatically. “It's safe!”</p>
<p>Beca lifted the cup up, sniffing it hesitantly. “Uh huh. And it comes in a trash can because....?”</p>
<p>Chloe reached out and took her wrist, leading the cup towards her lips. “Just because. Now would you shut up and drink some?”</p>
<p>Beca rolled her eyes, but took a drink. “You're peer pressuring me, Beale.”</p>
<p>A look of horror formed on Chloe's face. “Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I...”</p>
<p>It took Beca a moment to process what was happening, and when she did she immediately started laughing. “Hey, Red, I'm joking!” She took another sip, larger this time, and tried to ignore how the orange slice hit her nose. “See? I was joking. You didn't peer pressure me, okay?”</p>
<p>It was too late. Chloe was already pulling her in for a hug that threatened to spill both of their drinks and it was all Beca could do to keep hers from splashing down the other woman's back, and she just hoped that Chloe had enough sense to keep hers from doing the same.</p>
<p>“You're...crushing me...Beale!”</p>
<p>Chloe hummed in her ear, tightening her embrace. Beca was pretty sure that she took a sip of her drink behind her back, too, based on the swallowing noise that she was sure she heard. “What did you say, Becs?”</p>
<p>“Personal space, dude!”</p>
<p>“Oh.” Chloe held on for a moment longer before letting Beca go. “Sorry, I forget that other people might not be huggers, too.”</p>
<p>“It's fine! Just....a little warning would be nice next time.”</p>
<p>“Can do!” Chloe's smile re-appeared, and Beca couldn't help but grin back.</p>
<p>“Dork,” she said, taking a quick sip of her juice so that Chloe wouldn't be able to see her smile.</p>
<p>“Yeah, but I'm <em>your</em> dork,” Chloe replied, reaching out with her index finger and tapping Beca on the nose for emphasis. Beca rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the voice in her head that was telling her to <em>run</em>.</p>
<p>“You're everyone's dork, Red.”</p>
<p>Chloe arched an eyebrow as she looked at Beca over the rim of her cup. “That's the second time you've called me that, you know.”</p>
<p>“What? Red? I'm pretty sure I heard Fat Amy call you that first,” Beca said, hoping that Chloe wouldn't be able to tell that she was lying. As it was, she couldn't quite figure out what the expression on Chloe's face was supposed to convey, and it was beginning to make her a little uneasy.</p>
<p>“Hmm,” Chloe hummed, mostly to herself. “Maybe.”</p>
<p>Instead of saying anything else that would dig her deeper into embarrassment, Beca decided to chug the rest of her drink. If she was drunk, then she'd at least have something to blame for the way her cheeks kept burning every time Chloe looked at her.</p>
<p>“Refill?” Chloe asked, and Beca nodded, handing her her now-empty cup. Chloe dipped it back into the juice and handed it back to her. Beca noted that the orange slice had now been joined by a sliver of pineapple. She also tried to ignore how much backwash must be in that trash can if <em>that</em> was the method for refills.</p>
<p>“Thanks,” she said, and Chloe smiled and nodded before she turned to top off her own cup. When she turned back around, she looked like she was going to say something to her, but then the song changed and her eyes lit up.</p>
<p>“Oh my god, I <em>love</em> this song!” she squealed. “Becs, come on, let's go dance!”</p>
<p>“Oh, uh...” Beca started to say, but Chloe's fingers had already closed around her wrist and she had started pulling her towards the teeming mass of bodies that had congregated in the center of the atrium. “Look, Beale, I don't...”</p>
<p>They reached the makeshift dance floor, and Chloe immediately started swaying back and forth in time with the music, practically shouting the lyrics as she did so. It was a song Beca hardly knew, but based on the energy of the crowd around her, it was something popular and so she tried to pretend that it was more familiar than it was. She also tried to pretend that her personal space wasn't currently being invaded by Chloe Beale's hips.</p>
<p>“Becaw!” she heard Jesse yell from somewhere to her right. She winced, and for what felt like the thirtieth time that night, wished that she had just taken that extra shift at the radio station instead of going to auditions.</p>
<p>“I think you're being summoned,” Chloe said, bending close to her ear so that Beca would be able to hear her over the music.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I....”</p>
<p>“Do you want to go hang out with him?” Chloe glanced back up towards Jesse, who was trying to fight his way through the crowd towards them. “I don't mind if you do. He's pretty cute, and-”</p>
<p>“No.” Beca slipped behind Chloe, hoping that the few inches in height difference would be enough to hide her from Jesse's sight. “No, I really don't.”</p>
<p>“Becaw!”</p>
<p>Chloe looked towards Jesse for another moment before turning her attention back to the freshman currently trying to use her as a human shield. “We can get out of here, if you want?”</p>
<p>“What?” Beca shook her head. “No, I don't want to take you away from the party, and....”</p>
<p>“It's not like there won't be more parties, Becs.” She smiled down at the younger girl, who was very obviously trying to keep an eye on the rapidly-approaching Treblemaker. “Besides, I have wine and a bluetooth speaker back in my room, and we can have our own party!”</p>
<p>Beca finally tore her gaze away from Jesse and looked at Chloe. “Look, Beale, I can just head out on my own. There's no need for you to feel like you have to accompany me or anything, especially when your friends are still going to be here. I'll be fine.”</p>
<p>“BeCAW!”</p>
<p>Beca's eyes flew back over towards Jesse, who had managed to get stuck behind a group of students (led by Fat Amy, of course) doing the limbo. “Jesus Christ.”</p>
<p>“Beca.” Chloe waited for her to look back up before continuing. “Let's get out of here, okay?”</p>
<p>She thought about arguing with her, or demanding that she stay put while she went back to Baker on her own. Thought about the mixes she could be working on, or the sleep that she desperately needed to catch up on now that she was actually attending her philosophy lectures. But Chloe was smiling at her, and the jungle juice had started to make her brain feel a little like a cotton ball, and so she found herself nodding.</p>
<p>“Okay. Lead the way, Red.”</p>
<p>Chloe's smile grew wider at the sound of the nickname, and she held out her hand. Beca glanced down at it, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, but then she intertwined her fingers with Chloe's and let her pull them off of the dancefloor.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <b> Bree &lt;3, 10: 45 p.m.</b>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Please tell me that I didn't just see you leave with the alt-chick, Chloe!</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> <b>Bree &lt;3, 10:47 p.m.</b></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You're co-captain! You can't just ditch aca-intiation night!</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>1 missed call from Bree &lt;3, 10:49 p.m.</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <b>Bree &lt;3, 10:50 p.m.</b>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Chloe Anne Beale! Answer your phone!</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>The first Bellas rehearsal was....well, not great.</p>
<p>Chloe knew that it was going to be a shitshow when she woke up to find that she had seventeen unread texts, five missed phone calls, and one voicemail from Aubrey. She played the voicemail first, holding the phone away from her ear when Aubrey's shrill shouting crackled through the speakers. Beca had been watching her carefully from the pile of pillows and blankets on the floor, and so Chloe clicked out of the voicemail and hoped Beca wouldn't ask about it. She didn't, but Chloe was pretty sure that she saw a flash of concern in the freshman's gaze when she sat up and asked if Chloe wanted to grab something for breakfast.</p>
<p>Chloe had turned her down, giving her a half-assed excuse about having to get some homework done before rehearsal began. Beca just nodded and offered to help clean up the mess they had made, but Chloe shook her head and said that she would take care of it. She wasn't all that surprised when Beca didn't argue (she didn't really seem like the tidying-up type).</p>
<p>After Beca had left, Chloe had pulled her phone back out so that she could finally open the texts waiting for her, discovering that they ranged from “where the hell are you?” all the way to “I'm going to literally murder you, Chloe Beale!” That didn't really surprise her, either. What <em>did</em> surprise her was that she didn't bother to text Aubrey back.</p>
<p>It wasn't like she had anything to make excuses for, anyway. She and Beca had just hung out for a few hours, drinking the bottle of Boone's Farm that Chloe had stashed away in her mini-fridge and listening to Spotify playlists that Beca had pulled up on her phone. When the wine was gone, she had honestly expected that Beca would just want to go back to her room. But they had kept talking instead, and when Beca's head had started to nod forward, Chloe told her to stay the night. Beca shook her head and began to argue, but her words had grown slurred and her eyelids grew heavy, and so she gave up her protestations pretty quickly. She <em>had</em> insisted that she sleep on the floor instead of sharing the bed, though, even though Chloe told her that was ridiculous.</p>
<p>(<em>“You're being ridiculous,” </em>she had said, and Beca had just nodded and curled up beneath the blanket Chloe had given her.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Shut up and go to sleep, Beale.”)</em>
</p>
<p>But Chloe didn't go to sleep, at least, not right away. She had laid in her bed for what felt like hours, going over the new information that she had learned about Beca Mitchell.</p>
<p>Beca didn't like movies. Like, at all. Chloe had discovered that after offering to throw in a DVD, only to be turned down with a grimace and the admission that she didn't like them. At first, Chloe was sure that she was joking because seriously, who doesn't like movies, but then Beca had apologized and offered to watch one anyway, and Chloe realized that she hadn't been joking. The look of relief on Beca's face when she had put away her DVD collection had made something in Chloe's chest ache.</p>
<p>Beca preferred white wine over red, though she'd drink both. She <em>hated</em> rosé because it “tasted like cheap boxed red wine that had gone wrong.”</p>
<p>Beca worked at the radio station with the Treble who had been trying to get her attention.</p>
<p>Beca hadn't declared a major because she didn't plan on sticking around long enough to need one.</p>
<p>There had been other things, too, little tidbits that had sounded almost like confessions when Beca said them, but Chloe didn't focus on those as much because she had realized that even though Beca had joined the Bellas (which Chloe had meant to ask about, but had forgotten to), she certainly didn't plan on staying at Barden. In fact, Chloe was pretty sure that if given half a chance, Beca would leave the University and never look back.</p>
<p>That's why she wanted so badly for the first Bellas rehearsal to go well. If she could just show Beca that the Bellas were worth sticking around for- that there was a reason for her to <em>stay</em>- then it would all be alright.</p>
<p>But, instead, Aubrey spent the fifteen minutes before rehearsal began chastising her and demanding answers that Chloe refused to give, and then she had kicked out both Kori and Mary-Elise without even consulting with her, and Beca had called her out on it, and Chloe found herself trying to calm her best friend down so that she didn't hurl everywhere again.</p>
<p>She should have called it there. But Aubrey insisted that they keep going, and Beca kept pointing out the same sort of things that Chloe had brought up to Bree more than once (like, keeping the same set that Alice had created last year? What was even up with that?), and even though the smile on Aubrey's face didn't waver, Chloe knew that she was about to lose it if Beca didn't shut up. She tried to get Beca's attention during the choreography segment of rehearsal, pretending that she needed to actually move Beca's arms for her so that she would get it right. However, when she leaned in to whisper a warning in Beca's ear, the younger girl had muttered that she knew what she was doing and shuffled out of Chloe's grasp before she could speak. And then Aubrey was yelling for her to get Stacie to stop molesting herself, and she was forced to walk away from Beca before she could tell her to stop needling her co-captain.</p>
<p>Then they were singing, and her throat burned in a way that had become familiar to her, and they didn't sound great but they didn't sound <em>terrible</em> but it wasn't enough. Still, Chloe thought they were safe once Aubrey decided to end the rehearsal.</p>
<p>She was wrong.</p>
<p>“Beca, a word?”</p>
<p>Chloe's ears perked up, and she quickly turned away from the chairs she was stacking aside to watch as Beca stopped in her tracks and turned back towards Aubrey.</p>
<p>“You know you'll have to take those ear monstrosities out for the Fall Mixer.”</p>
<p>“Au...” Chloe began to say, but she was interrupted by Beca. (Not that it mattered anyway, as it seemed both women had forgotten that she was even there.)</p>
<p>“You really don't like me, do you?” Beca asked, her facial expression remaining pleasant enough, but even from a couple yards away, Chloe could see the steely glint in the freshman's eyes.</p>
<p>“I don't like your attitude,” Aubrey replied, and Beca's half-smile began to grow, though it did nothing to settle the nervous butterflies in Chloe's stomach.</p>
<p>“You don't even know me.”</p>
<p>“I know you have a toner-” Chloe cringed, and opened her mouth, about to protest, when she heard the rest of Aubrey's statement. “For Jesse.”</p>
<p>Chloe shut her mouth.</p>
<p>“What?” She could hear the shock in Beca's voice, and she could see how the smile on her face grew and shifted into what she thought was genuine amusement. Aubrey wasn't going to like that.</p>
<p>“A toner? A musical boner? I saw it at Hood Night. It's distracting,” Aubrey explained in that matter-of-fact way of hers' that Chloe knew Beca wasn't going to respond well to.</p>
<p>The smile finally disappeared from Beca's face. “Yeah, that's not a thing. And, uh. You're not the boss of me, so.”</p>
<p>Oh, Aubrey was <em>definitely </em>not going to like that. She knew she she do something, anything, to end the conversation there, but-</p>
<p>“You took an <em>oath,</em>” Aubrey said, emphasizing her last word like it was the most important thing in the world.</p>
<p>“That oath cost you two girls already <em>today</em>. I'm pretty sure you need me more than I need you.” There was a hint of humor in Beca's voice that was accompanied by a smirk, and even though Chloe was truly impressed by the way the freshman was standing up to Aubrey, she could also see the anger beneath the stone-cold expression on her best friend's face and she began to walk towards them just in case Aubrey decided to start swinging.</p>
<p>But then Beca was turning and walking away, and although Aubrey didn't move to go after her, Chloe could see that she wasn't going to let the freshman have the last word. And she was right.</p>
<p>“I can see your toner through those jeans!” Aubrey yelled, and Chloe didn't even have time to blink in surprise before Beca was turning around.</p>
<p>“That's my dick,” she said, flashing a smug grin towards the fuming senior before turning around again and walking towards the exit. Both of her captains stared at her as she left, processing the quip Beca had tossed out so naturally.</p>
<p>It took a moment for her to shake off the surprise, but Chloe eventually turned towards Aubrey. “Everything okay?”, she asked, and if looks could kill, the glare that her best friend shot towards her would have had her six feet under.</p>
<p>“We better have our shit together before SBT,” Aubrey hissed out. “And you better get your mind in the game, Chloe, because I don't know what the hell your issue is, or why you suddenly think that it's okay to just skip out on key Bellas' events just to hang out with juvenile dirtbags like <em>Beca-</em>” Aubrey spit her name out like it left a bad taste in her mouth- “but it's going to stop. <em>Now. </em>Do you understand?”</p>
<p>Chloe felt her cheeks burn as a flash of red-hot anger surged through her. “Aca-scuse me?”</p>
<p>“You're co-captain, Chloe, and it's ridiculous that I can't even rely on you to keep your shit together long enough to help me lead our first rehearsal!” Aubrey's expression remained hard, but her voice softened just enough for Chloe to notice. “I need you, Chlo. I can't do this alone.”</p>
<p>She wanted to argue; wanted to point out that she had spent the last four months going over every aspect of their setlists and choreography with her just so that they had the barest of chances to get back to the ICCAs, but then Aubrey was pulling her into a tight embrace and she choked back the venomous words that had been dancing on her tongue.</p>
<p>“I just want to win,” Aubrey whispered, and that was enough to make Chloe's shoulders slump down in defeat as she returned the hug.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <b> Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 5:47 p.m.</b>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Hey, are you okay? That was really intense</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <b>Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 6:55 p.m.</b>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I'm sorry that Aubrey went a little crazy. And I don't know why she even brought up Jesse, because THAT'S just insane, right?</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <b> Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 7:05 p.m.</b>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Becs?</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Come say hi to me over on Tumblr @darthbelle !</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Beca Mitchell knew she had a bit of an abrasive personality.</p><p>At least, that's the wording that her mother had used once, when Beca had been in the ninth grade and had asked why she couldn't seem to make many friends. <em>"You can be just a little abrasive sometimes, honey,"</em> she had said. <em>"But all teenagers are that way, so don't worry about it."</em></p><p>She supposed her mom had been trying to be supportive, but it definitely hadn't felt like it then, and it didn't really feel like it now. She had taken those words to heart, though, and every time a classmate had turned down her requests to hang out, and every time everyone else in her class had gotten an invite to a party and she didn't, she remembered her mother's words and wished that she wasn't so fucking <em>abrasive.</em></p><p>She had thought that she had toned back the sharp edges of her personality; hell, after Chloe warned her about how Aubrey tended to be a little "abrasive" the night before (what was with people and that term, anyway?), she had made sure to keep most of her comments to herself. Hell, she learned choreography and sang stupid girl-power ditties without bitching about it. For fuck's sake, she did <em>cardio. </em>Aubrey still managed to find some stupid-ass reason to bitch at her.</p><p>They were literally the stupidest fucking reasons, too. Ear monstrosities? Attitude? Fucking <em>Jesse</em>?</p><p>The entire exchange made her want to say "screw this" to the entire thing; made her want to just fuck off and hop on a plane bound for LA because at least there she wouldn't have to put up with uptight blondes with sticks up their asses.</p><p>Well, she probably would have to put up with different uptight blondes with sticks up their asses, but they probably wouldn't care about a capella, right?</p><p>Even through her anger, though, she knew she couldn't leave. She didn't have the money for LA. Hell, she didn't even have enough for a plane ticket. So instead, she had come back to her dorm and thrown herself into a random mix because it seemed healthier than punching a wall.</p><p>She was bent over her mixing board, staring at the dials and faders and wishing she could figure out what the hell she was doing wrong, when she felt a tap on her shoulder that almost sent her flying out of her chair.</p><p>"Jesus Christ, Kimmy Jin, what do you-" she started to say as she turned around in her chair, but then her eyes landed on the unamused expression on her roommate's face. Her roommate, who as it turned out, was still sitting at her own desk and was certainly <em>not</em> the bashful-looking redhead peering down at her.</p><p>"Uh...hey, Becs?"</p><p>Beca blinked once, then held up a finger. "One sec." She turned around and paused the music that had apparently been loud enough to prevent her from hearing her captain coming in. She made sure to save what she had been working on before she closed her laptop and pulled her headphones off of her ears so that they hung around her neck. "What are you doing here, Beale?"</p><p>"You didn't answer any of my texts," Chloe said, and Beca turned back around in time to see her scratch the back of her head nervously. "I got worried."</p><p>Beca reached for her pocket, feeling for her phone. She pulled it out and winced when she saw the several missed notifications. "Oh, sorry. I didn't even realize that you had texted me." She glanced over the messages, unable to hide the slight upturn of her lips as she took in Chloe's texts. When she finished, she looked up towards Chloe, who looked almost embarrassed. "I'm fine, Beale. I can handle Aubrey and her bullshit. Though, yeah, not sure where that Jesse comment came from, because <em>that's</em> not true."</p><p>"Yeah, that was...really weird," Chloe said, laughing a bit at the end. The laugh didn't quite reach her eyes, though, and Beca found herself growing concerned despite her best efforts not to.</p><p>"Everything okay, Red?"</p><p>Chloe nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay." Her voice cracked just slightly at the end, though, and that was enough to make Beca stand up.</p><p>"Liar." Beca reached out for button-up that she had placed on the back of her chair after coming back from rehearsal. She pulled it on, fixing the collar so that it wasn't sticking up before she slipped her wallet into her back pocket. "Come on, let's go someplace a little less..." she looked towards her roommate, who continued to glare towards them. "Scary," she finished, and if she didn't know better, she would have thought she saw Kimmy Jin's lips quirk upwards in the barest of smirks.</p><p>"Are you sure? I mean, I obviously interrupted you in the middle of...well, whatever you were working on, and..."</p><p>"Chloe." Beca turned back towards her, shooting her a look that she hoped read more "stop arguing" and less "my roommate is fucking terrifying help me." From the way Chloe's mouth immediately shut, she guessed she had succeeded. "Let's go, okay?"</p><p>Chloe nodded.</p><p>"Excellent." Beca walked over to her door, opening it and gesturing for Chloe to lead the way. The redhead complied, but she paused in the doorway so she could wave goodbye to Kimmy Jin.</p><p>"Have a good night!" Chloe said, and Beca had to fight the urge to roll her eyes at how <em>sweet</em> her captain was. She was about to push her the rest of the way out the door, eager to get away from the stare of her roommate, but then Chloe was moving past her and she was finally able to close the door behind them.</p><p>"So, where do you want to go?" Beca asked, patting her pocket in hopes that her key was there, because she definitely didn't want to have to ask Kimmy Jin to let her back in.</p><p>"Where do <em>I</em> want to go? It was your idea to go somewhere else, Becs, so you should get to pick!"</p><p>Beca, having found her key, looked up at Chloe and rolled her eyes. "Beale, I've been here for like, two months. I've gotten really familiar with the radio station, my room, and, on the odd occasion, the dining hall. I literally don't have any clue <em>where</em> to go. So would you just lead the way and stop arguing with me?"</p><p>Beca couldn't read the look on Chloe's face, and she felt her stomach twist as she realized just how fucking <em>abrasive</em> she had sounded without even trying. She was about to apologize when Chloe smiled and nodded. "Yeah, okay. Is it okay if we don't really <em>go </em>anywhere? We could go back to my room, maybe order some pizza?" She paused, looking at Beca thoughtfully. "Do you like pizza?"</p><p>"Are there people who don't like pizza?" Beca asked, her question accompanied by an , incredulous look that made Chloe's smile grow ever-so-slightly.</p><p>"I mean, you don't like movies, so I figured I wouldn't just assume that you'd like the things that most people do," Chloe explained, and Beca felt her heart skip a beat for absolutely no reason at all. She chalked it up to the fact that Chloe looked so <em>sincere, </em>like she truly didn't want to assume anything about the freshman standing in front of her on the off chance of being wrong.</p><p>Beca wasn't exactly used to anyone caring that much.</p><p>"I love pizza, Red," Beca said after a long moment, realizing that she should probably answer at some point in time or else it would be kind of weird. "Can we get pepperoni on half?"</p><p>"Of course, Becs." Chloe reached out and grabbed her hand. Beca almost pulled away, but then Chloe was leading her down the hallway. "Whatever you want."</p><hr/><p>Beca had never really had to comfort someone before. Well, no one other than her mother, of course, but she didn't really think that running out for more pints of Ben &amp; Jerry's for a depressed parent really counted. So when Chloe still hadn't brought up what she was upset about after about an hour of hanging out in her room, Beca found herself trying to figure out the best way to address it.</p><p>What she eventually came up with, carefully plotted out in her mind as she ate her third slice of pizza, was to ask her captain, very gently, what was going on.</p><p>What she <em>actually</em> ended up saying, though, around a mouthful of cheese and sauce, was: "So, why do you look like you're going to start crying at any moment?"</p><p>Smooth, Mitchell. Real smooth.</p><p>Chloe had just lifted her own slice to her mouth, but when she heard Beca's question, she slowly set it back down. "I don't look like I'm going to start crying."</p><p>"Yeah, you do. You have ever since you showed up in my room. I can't imagine that you're all upset just because Queen Bree got all up in my business, right? Because I told you, I can handle that stuck-up busy..."</p><p>"She's my best friend, Mitchell," Chloe said, and Beca stopped talking even though she wasn't sure if Chloe had meant that to be a warning or not. From the expression on Chloe's face, it didn't look like she herself even knew.</p><p>"Right. Sorry."</p><p>Chloe nodded at her in acknowledgment, and picked up her slice. She took a bite, chewing slowly as Beca tried to figure out if she should ask again, or just drop it completely. But then Chloe was setting the pizza back down. "There's just a lot going on."</p><p>"With the Bellas?"</p><p>"Partially, yeah." Chloe pushed her plate away and leaned back against the wall, looking anywhere but towards Beca. "But also not."</p><p>"Oh. Okay." Beca waited to see if Chloe would continue talking, but she didn't, so she decided to just throw caution to the wind because fuck it, she could at least <em>try</em> to be comforting. "Do you want to talk about it?"</p><p>Chloe pursed her lips and looked up towards the ceiling, blinking a few times. "She yelled at me."</p><p>"What?" Beca sat up straighter, feeling a familiar surge of heat in her chest. "Who did?"</p><p>"Bree."</p><p>"She did <em>what</em>? Why?"</p><p>Chloe blinked again in an effort to keep the tears at bay, but she knew it was pointless. So she looked back down at the floor and wiped away the few that had formed at the corners of her eyes. "It doesn't matter why. She just did. And it's fine, I know she just wants the Bellas to be the best, and I do too, I just..."</p><p>"It absolutely matters why!" The heat in Beca's chest burned hotter, and she was once again struck with the urge to punch something, anything. "She can't just yell at you, she's your best friend for Christ's sake!" She started to rise to her feet. "I'm going to..."</p><p>Chloe's hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her back down. "You're going to sit down and not do anything to piss her off even more, Beca Mitchell!"</p><p>"But she..."</p><p>"She's the captain, and she can and will kick you out if you keep pissing her off, so would you just stay put!"</p><p>"You're the captain too, Beale!" Beca wrenched her wrist out of Chloe's grasp, but she didn't move to stand again. Her eyes met Chloe's, and from the way Chloe wouldn't quite look at her she knew her words had hit exactly how she had intended them to. "You're the captain, too. And you wouldn't let her kick me out." She waited for Chloe to give her any sort of acknowledgment, but when it didn't come, she felt an icy chill settle in her bones. "You wouldn't let her, right?"</p><p>"Of course not," Chloe replied, but her eyes darted towards the ground and Beca couldn't help but laugh because the only thing that Chloe's answer had reassured her of was that she couldn't even depend on the one person that she had grown not to hate at Barden.</p><p>"Right," she said. "Well, I think I'm going to head out, then." She stood up, half-expecting Chloe's hand to wrap around her wrist again, but the senior didn't move. "Thanks for the pizza."</p><p>She had her hand on doorknob when Chloe spoke again. "Beca, please, I-"</p><p>"I'll see you at rehearsal, Beale."</p><p>She didn't hang around to see if Chloe said anything after that. Instead, she went back to her room, ignored the look Kimmy Jin shot towards her, and shoved her headphones back over her ears. At least if the music managed to disappoint her, the only person she would have to blame was herself.</p><hr/><p>
  <em> <strong>Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 10:31 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'm sorry. I would never kick you out, and I would try my best to make sure Bree doesn't either, but I don't have the final say, and...ugh</em>
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</p><p>
  <em> <strong>Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 10:33 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what you want me to say other than I'm sorry</em>
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</p><p>
  <em> <strong>Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 11:01 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'm sorry</em>
</p><hr/><p>Beca didn't speak to her for the rest of the week, despite Chloe's attempts to get her to say <em>something </em>to her. She tried texting, and calling, and even whispered apologies to her during the choreography portions of Bellas rehearsals, but she got nothing in return from the freshman other than glares. For pete's sake, she didn't even care if Beca started yelling at her because at least then it would be <em>some</em> sort of acknowledgment of her presence, but by the time Saturday rolled around, Beca hadn't said a single word.</p><p>It wasn't like it had been an easy week outside of the cold shoulder Beca was giving her, either. Her classes weren't going as well as she wanted them to, and the rehearsals weren't going as well as she thought they would, and it felt like every time she turned around, Aubrey was giving her a disappointed look, or was barking orders at her, or just looked like she was going to explode, and Chloe would have to try and calm her down and then the next day would come and the cycle would repeat.</p><p>And then there was the issue of her throat.</p><p>She had been planning on asking Aubrey to go with her to the appointment, but she had quickly nixed that idea when she realized that if, god forbid, the doctor gave her bad news, Aubrey would probably <em>actually</em> explode.</p><p>Her next thought had been to ask Beca, but she seriously doubted that the younger girl would want anything to do with her at the moment.</p><p>So she went alone. She was alone when the doctor gave her a shot that they said would sedate her enough to allow them to stick a long tube down her throat. She was alone when the tube was inserted and the doctor made little noises of concern while Chloe tried desperately not to panic. And she was alone when he pulled the tube out and told her as gently as possible that her vocal cords were riddled with nodules.</p><p>She had stared at him for a long time, unable and unwilling to process the words that he had said. Then he repeated himself, and she felt her entire world come crashing down around her.</p><p>Later, she was alone as she sat in her car and looked at the vocal cord surgery pamphlets that the doctor had given her before leaving his office. She was alone as she read over the possible risks of the procedure, the risks that increased if she didn't get the surgery done as quickly as possible. And she was alone when she threw the pamphlet down onto the passenger seat and started sobbing.</p><p>She truly thought that her day couldn't get any worse. But it was Saturday, and that meant that she had the SBT mixer, and even though she had hoped and prayed that the Bellas would be ready for it, she had known deep down that they weren't. In fact, she had practically begged Aubrey to reconsider. But her best friend had insisted that they were going to be fine.</p><p>They were decidedly <em>not fine.</em></p><p>When Howie cut them off during their first song ("Turn the Beat Around", of course, had to keep with the classics), Chloe was almost relieved.</p><p>They had filed out of the fraternity house single-file, each Bella looking a little more downtrodden than the last. She was about to start reassuring the younger Bellas that it was okay, that they had only had a week's worth of rehearsals and they couldn't hold themselves accountable for not being quite ready yet, when Aubrey beat her to the punch.</p><p>"God. Well, I hope you all remember the way you feel right now, so you will never want to feel this way again. Chloe?"</p><p>Chloe stopped when she heard Aubrey say her name, letting the other Bellas mill around her. She didn't turn around when she heard Aubrey bitch at her about her voice not being "Aguilerian" at all. It only was when Aubrey stood next to her, demanding to know what was wrong with her, that she finally turned, giving her co-captain a scathing look before facing the rest of the Bellas. The words tumbled from her lips before she could stop them. "I have nodes."</p><p>"What? Oh my God." Aubrey reached for her hands, and she let her take them because for the first time in what felt like forever, she could hear genuine concern in her best friend's voice.</p><p>"I found out this morning," she said, mostly to Aubrey.</p><p>"What are nodes?"</p><p>Chloe couldn't quite believe that she had heard Beca ask that question, and so she didn't answer. That was fine, because Aubrey was already answering for her. "Vocal nodules. The rubbing together of your vocal cords at above-average rates without proper lubrication."</p><p>Chloe looked up as Aubrey was talking, and she let herself finally look at Beca, who looked back at her with an expression that she couldn't quite read. She was pretty sure it wasn't anger, though. "They sit on your windpipe and they crush your dreams."</p><p>"Isn't that painful?" Beca asked, and Chloe felt her chest tighten at the concern that she swore she could hear in the freshman's voice. "Why would you keep performing?"</p><p>"Because I love to sing," she answered, like the answer should have been the most obvious thing in the world.</p><p>"Yeah, it's like when my lady-doctor told me not to have sex for six weeks, and I did it anyway," Stacie said, and Fat Amy responded before anyone else had a chance to.</p><p>"You should really listen to your <em>doctor</em>," she said, and Stacie gave a little shrug and a noncommittal noise and Chloe decided to start speaking again before the younger Bellas got completely off-topic.</p><p>"The key is early diagnosis. I am living with nodes. But I am a survivor." She looked at all of the Bellas again, trying not to look too hard at Beca, who was still giving her that "what the fuck, Beale" look that she had grown accustomed to seeing. "I just have to pull back. Because I am limited. Because I have nodes."</p><p>The words sounded stupid even as she said them.</p><p>"Chloe, this is <em>horrible,</em>" she heard Aubrey say, and she had to agree.</p><p>"Well at least it's not herpes."</p><p>Every head turned towards Fat Amy, Chloe's included. The Australian looked somber. "Or do you have that as well?"</p><p>No one spoke for a few moments. Chloe knew she should probably confirm that she<em> didn't </em>have herpes, but Aubrey's nails were digging into her wrist and she just wanted to go home and-</p><p>"Shut up, Ames," Beca said, and that broke the spell. The other Bellas started to come up to Chloe, throwing their arms around her and offering words of comfort, and for a moment, Chloe felt like maybe it was going to be okay.</p><p>But then she caught sight of Beca, who hadn't joined in on the impromptu group hug. Instead, she stood off to the side, looking every bit as awkward as she had when she had walked onto the audition stage.</p><p>Something inside Chloe's chest ached as her eyes met Beca's.</p><p>"I'm sorry," she mouthed towards her. Beca just nodded, but there was a look in her eye that made Chloe feel like maybe, just maybe, they would be all right.</p><hr/><p>
  <em> <strong>Beca Mitchell, 8:13 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Hey, uh...sorry about the whole nodes thing. That's pretty rough, huh?</em>
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  <em> <strong>Chloe Beale, 8:15 p.m.</strong> </em>
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  <em>Yeah, but it'll be fine! Nothing can stop this girl from singing!</em>
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  <em> <strong>Beca Mitchell, 8:18 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yeah, but like, you definitely shouldn't be singing, dude. I looked these things up, and they're pretty serious. Like, surgery serious.</em>
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  <em> <strong>Chloe Beale, 8:21 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don't worry, Becs. They're not that bad yet.</em>
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  <em> <strong>Chloe Beale, 8:22 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Also it's hella cute that you're WebMD-ing on my behalf</em>
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</p><p>
  <em> <strong>Beca Mitchell, 8:23 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>If you say so</em>
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</p><p>
  <em> <strong>Beca Mitchell, 8:23 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>And no it's not, shut up</em>
</p><hr/><p>It honestly and truly just was <em>not</em> Beca's week.</p><p>It wouldn't have been a good week even if it hadn't started out with that absolutely crap-tastic Bellas performance at that stupid frat mixer. Beca had known that they didn't belong performing yet; for Pete's sake, she was fairly certain that Jessica and Ashley didn't even know the words to "Turn the Beat Around".</p><p>(And who the <em>fuck </em>thought that performing "Turn the Beat Around" at a <em>fraternity house </em>would be a good idea?!)</p><p>But she had held her tongue and went along with it because there was absolutely no way that she was going to give Aubrey more ammunition to use to kick her out of the Bellas. She was pretty sure that her Dad wouldn't really care about the reason behind her expulsion, and as much as she hated it, she needed his support (even though the idea of him supporting her at all was fucking laughable). So she had kept her mouth shut and they had bombed and then Chloe decided to drop the news that she had fucking <em>nodes</em> and that was just Saturday.</p><p>By Thursday, she was ready to stab someone.</p><p>Sure, she and Chloe had started talking again, which was all well and good. It wasn't really the same as it had been, since Beca definitely still didn't trust that she would support her if Aubrey <em>did</em> decide to just up and kick her out, but it was still something. It was a busy week, so they had stuck to texting outside of rehearsal. Even with all the awkwardness, though, Beca still had to fight to keep herself from smiling whenever she saw Chloe's name light up her phone screen.</p><p>But it really <em>was</em> a busy week. Besides the constant Bellas rehearsals, she also was working at the radio station every other day, stacking albums and CDs and even the odd 8-track here and there. The stack of flashdrives that she had given Luke, the ones with her mixes that she had spent more time on than she cared to admit, just kept growing and growing and it was beginning to drive her a little insane.</p><p>So when she <em>finally </em>had a minute to herself, one where she could sit on the quad and work on the mix that she still couldn't quite get right, she knew she should have expected to be interrupted. That didn't stop her from almost slapping Jesse when he appeared next to her with a ratty blanket and a couple of Capri Suns.</p><p>"What's all this?" she asked, forcing herself to laugh so she wouldn't absolutely lose her mind.</p><p>"As much as I love spending time with you stacking CDs...and I do, I love it like, more than life...I figured we could do some other fun things that don't make us want to kill ourselves, right?"</p><p>He started pulling out DVD cases from his bag, and Beca wished that she was anywhere but there.</p><p>"So I brought some movies! <em>Jaws, E.T., The Breakfast Club, Star Wars, </em>and <em>Rocky</em>. Best scored and soundtracked movies of all time." Jesse paused for only a moment, but the look on his face managed to grab Beca's attention. "That's what I wanna do when I grow up. I wanna score movies. Bring people to tears, you know. Blow their minds. I feel like only music can do that."</p><p>For the first time, Beca was actually impressed by something that he said. She was struck with the sudden urge to tell him that she understood, at least to some degree, but then she caught sight of the DVDs again and the urge passed. "You must really sweep your girlfriend off her feet."</p><p>"Oh, I don't have a girlfriend," Jesse replied, far too quickly.</p><p>"What!"</p><p>"No," Jesse said, shaking his head.</p><p>"You have juice pouches and <em>Rocky</em>!" Beca knew she should probably tone back the mocking sarcasm, just because she knew that he wasn't a bad guy, but he turned away from her before she could even get the chance to apologize.</p><p>"Okay, so what do you wanna watch first?" he asked, inspecting his DVDs. Beca took a sip from her Capri Sun and tried to tone back the snark that threatened to escape her lips.</p><p>"Wanna do something else?"</p><p>He turned, his confusion written across his face. Beca continued, unable to stop herself. "We could relive my parents' divorce. Or visit a gynecologist." She made sure to smile just so he would know that she was (mostly) joking, but it was apparent that he was less than amused.</p><p>"What, do you not like movies or something?"</p><p>Beca thought back to the conversation she had with Chloe on Hood Night about the same damn thing and hoped that Jesse would be at least as considerate as Chloe had been. She had a feeling he wouldn't be, though, so she decided not to answer and instead took a sip from her Capri Sun.</p><p>"Like, any movies?"</p><p>Another sip, this time accompanied by an uncomfortable laugh.</p><p>"What the hell is wrong with you?" She tried not to wince at that, instead choosing to continue to hold the juice box up to her lips. "How do you not like movies? Not liking movies is like not liking..." he thought for a moment, obviously struggling. "Puppies!"</p><p>"They're <em>fine</em>," she said, wishing that she had chosen to go back to her dorm instead of risking the quad. " I just get bored and never make it to the end."</p><p>Jesse's expression grew incredulous, and Beca realized that had been the wrong thing to say. "The endings are the best part!"</p><p>She was quickly growing tired of the conversation, having had some form of it over and over again throughout her eighteen years. "They're predictable. Like, the guy gets the girl, and that kid sees dead people, and Darth Vader is Luke's father."</p><p>"Oh, right, so you just happened to guess the biggest cinematic reveal in history?"</p><p><em>God</em> this was getting tedious. "Vader in German <em>means</em> Father. His name is literally Darth Father." She let the smile fall from her face at the end, hoping that the one random piece of trivia she knew about that entire franchise would get him to finally drop the subject.</p><p>"Huh." He considered her words for a moment. "So you know German. Well, now I know why you don't like fun things."</p><p>She gave him a tight close-lipped smile and wished, not for the first time, that a sinkhole would appear beneath them so she could be put out of her misery.</p><p>"You know, you need a movie education. You need a movi-cation. And I'm gonna give it to you."</p><p>Beca considered telling him exactly what she thought of that idea, but then the perfect excuse popped into her head. "Yeah, in between Bellas' rehearsals, which are <em>always."</em></p><p>She honestly wasn't sure what kind of reaction she expected him to give to that excuse, but it definitely wasn't for him to turn to her with an excited smirk on his face. "You guys getting ready for the riff-off?"</p><p>Beca's stomach immediately began to ache with dread.</p><p>"What the hell is a riff-off?"</p><hr/><p>
  <em> <strong>Beca, 5:43 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Beale, when the hell were you going to tell us about whatever the fuck a riff-off is?</em>
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  <em> <strong>Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 5:51 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Oops</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I'm actually going to kill you, Beale."</p><p>Chloe looked down at Beca, grinning when she saw the way that the younger girl's nose was wrinkled in disgust. "Oh come on, Becs. The riff-off is a time-honored Barden a capella tradition."</p><p>"It's <em>bullshit."</em></p><p><em>"</em>No, it's <em>fun</em>." Chloe looked up again and saw Aubrey waving at them (well, mostly her, she supposed) from the edge of the pool. "Seriously, it's going to be a blast, just you wait and see."</p><p>"Our ideas of "fun" must be drastically different, Beale," Beca grumbled, but she let Chloe pull her along with her anyway.</p><p>"Hello, Chloe!" Aubrey exclaimed as they came near. Chloe shot her a look and Aubrey sighed and gave Beca a curt nod. "Mitchell."</p><p>"Posen," Beca replied just as curtly. Chloe could practically feel the tension between her two friends, the air growing thick and heavy, and she stepped between them before they had the chance to say anything else to each other.</p><p>"Are the rest of the Bellas here yet?"</p><p>Aubrey stared at Beca for another moment before turning towards Chloe with a smile that was obviously forced. "Fat Amy is the only one we're still waiting on now that you two finally arrived."</p><p>There was an edge to Aubrey's voice, one that Chloe recognized as a signal of her best friend's irritation with both her arrival time and her companion, but she chose to ignore it. It was better to do that than start an argument while Beca was nearby. "Have you heard from her?"</p><p>Aubrey shook her head. "No, but Stacie mentioned that she saw her an hour ago and said that she reminded her about this, so she should show up." She cast a quick glance towards Beca, who had apparently grown bored of the conversation and had taken out her phone, before leaning closer to Chloe and dropping her voice. "She <em>will </em>show up, right?"</p><p>"Of course she will," Chloe reassured her. She reached out and placed a hand on her best friend's shoulder, squeezing gently. "She's just...well, she's Fat Amy. She dances to her own beat, you know? But she always shows up."</p><p>"She's on her way."</p><p>Chloe and Aubrey both turned at the sound of Beca's voice. The freshman stood with her phone held loosely in her hand and an expression that looked like she was bored, but Chloe knew that it was just her default expression.</p><p>"What?" Aubrey asked, and Beca sighed.</p><p>"Fat Amy? I texted her, she's on her way." Beca waved her phone at them before tucking it away in the front pocket of her jeans. "She got caught up, and I quote, "wrasslin' with some nasty turtles at the fountain but will be there quicker than Hasselhoff runnin' down the beach."" She frowned, her brows furrowing. "I honestly don't know what any of that means, but I guess she'll be here in a few minutes."</p><p>"Oh," Aubrey said. Chloe waited for her to say something else, but when it became apparent that the information that Beca had provided had apparently rendered her co-captain speechless, she decided to step up.</p><p>"Thanks, Beca!"</p><p>Beca gave her a little half-nod and shoved her hands inside of her jacket pockets. "Yeah, no problem. If you guys want to go down with the others, I can stay up here and wait for her."</p><p>"That would be-"</p><p>"Great!" Chloe finished, interrupting Aubrey. She stepped forward, instinctively putting even more distance between the two other women. "We'll see you down there! And be careful coming down the ladders, they tend to be a bit more rickety than they appear."</p><p>Beca arched an eyebrow, but nodded. "Yeah, okay."</p><p>Chloe flashed her a beaming smile before looping her arm in Aubrey's and turning towards the pool. She pulled Aubrey towards the edge, only letting go of her so that they could descend the ladders.</p><p>She hadn't lied to Beca- the ladders really <em>were </em>rickety, and honestly probably at least twice Chloe's age, and she knew Aubrey was afraid of them so, at the very least, her best friend would have something else to focus on other than the fact that they were about five minutes out from the start of the riff-off without all of their Bellas present.</p><p>(That didn't really change the fact that she was also a little scared of them, too, especially when she heard the rung creak when she put her full weight on it)</p><p>"Chloe! Aubrey! Over here!"</p><p>Chloe jumped off the bottom rung of her ladder and turned her head to see Stacie waving at them enthusiastically with the other Bellas huddled together behind her. "Stacie! Hey!"</p><p>"Where have you guys <em>been</em>?" Stacie moved closer to them and gestured behind her. "We've been waiting for like, ever, for you guys to show up!"</p><p>"Well-"</p><p>"Hello, Bellas!" Fat Amy's booming voice echoed throughout the pool, causing more than one head to turn in her direction. Chloe turned to see her jumping down from the last two rungs of a ladder, Beca close behind. Even from where she stood, Chloe could see the way Beca clung to the sides of the ladder, fingers curled tight around the splintering wood. Unlike Fat Amy, she descended using every rung, and stepped down instead of jumping when she reached the end.</p><p>"Sorry 'bout the hold up," Fat Amy said as she strutted over to join the rest of the Bellas. "A few real mean-looking snappers tried to snag my trousers when I passed by the fountain." She shook her leg in their direction. "Almost got me, too, but I kicked their sorry asses all the way back to Kalamazoo!"</p><p>Chloe looked over Fat Amy's shoulder and shot Beca a questioning look. Beca just shrugged.</p><p>"Well...we're happy that you're here now," Chloe said after a moment, deciding that it would be better for her to break the stunned silence than for Aubrey to say anything. She kept her gaze on Beca for a moment longer, just so that the freshman would understand that her words weren't only meant for Fat Amy, looking away only after Beca gave her a small nod. "Okay, Bellas! We should probably go over the game plan..."</p><p>Her words were cut off by the Harmonics' synchronized police siren noises. All heads turned towards the MC, Justin, who held out his arms wide to the crowd. "Who's ready to get vocal?"</p><p>Chloe cheered along with everyone else and tried to let herself stop worrying so much. It was hard, though, especially when she knew that they were woefully unprepared.</p><p>God, she didn't want to embarrass themselves again.</p><p>She could hear Aubrey over the other Bellas, but she knew that her co-captain's enthusiasm was mostly a front for the anxiety that she knew had to be running through her. Riff-offs had never been the Bellas' strong suit, even though she and Aubrey had pulled off a <em>great </em>duet of Aerosmith's "Love in an Elevator" last year when the "Ugly Lead Singers" category had come up. They had still lost, of course, and Alice had screamed at them for their showmanship and lack of finesse afterwards, even though they hadn't been the ones to flub the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody like Alice and her cronies had.</p><p>(They never <em>were</em> the ones who fucked up, actually, apart from Aubrey's...well)</p><p>This year would be different. It had to be.</p><p>"Ladies of the 80's!" she heard Justin call out, and she realized that she had gotten so wrapped up in her train of thought that she hadn't even noticed that the categories were being chosen. Aubrey had, though, and with a small yelp, the blonde had lept forward, only to be beaten to the punch by Bumper and a few of the residual Trebles, who began the riff-off with a rousing rendition of "Mickey."</p><p>"Whatever," she heard Aubrey say, and she had to smile at the sassy little wave that her best friend threw the Trebles before she turned around and came back to rejoin the Bellas.</p><p>"Almost had them," she whispered to Aubrey, and she was surprised to receive a small smile in acknowledgment. She was going to say something else, was going to ask what song Aubrey had in mind in the first place, when she saw Bologna Barb cut the Trebles off with "Like a Virgin."</p><p>"Wait!" Aubrey said, mostly to herself. She turned to Chloe with determination in her eyes. "Pat Benatar."</p><p>Chloe's eyes lit up as she realized what Aubrey was going for. She turned to face the other Bellas, hoping that the grin she gave them seemed excited and not nervous.</p><p>"Guys, let's go with "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." Aubrey's going to take the lead, okay?"</p><p>Aubrey didn't wait for them to agree before she turned around and strutted towards the center of the pool. She stood in front of Bologna Barb and waited until they were about to end the chorus before she stole the song from them in a fashion that Chloe couldn't help but admire.</p><p>"Like the one in me, that's okay, we'll see how you do it," Aubrey sang, accenting her words with more sassy hand motions. Chloe heard the murmuring of the Bellas around her as they came to understand what they were supposed to do, and when she sang "put up your dukes, let's get down to it" along with her co-captain, she was pleased to find that she wasn't singing alone.</p><p>And then, somehow, they figured it out.</p><p>She heard backing vocals from Stacie and Lily and Fat Amy (with the latter providing some sort of air-guitar-driven beats that somehow <em>worked</em>), and the rest of the Bellas' voices blended together with them to form into a version of the song that almost sounded rehearsed.</p><p>And they <em>figured it out</em>.</p><p>She couldn't be prouder.</p><p>They were really starting to get into their groove when a member of the High Notes cut them off, though it wasn't to much avail. But their failure meant that the Bellas were still in it for another round.</p><p>They were walking back to their corner when Beca appeared next to her.</p><p>"So we just pick out any song that works?"</p><p>Chloe nodded. "Yeah! Any song."</p><p>"And you just go with it?"</p><p>Chloe nodded again before turning back towards Justin, knowing that the next category was coming up.</p><p>"Nice," she heard Beca say from behind her, and she felt a surge of glee rush through her at the thought that the freshman might actually be <em>enjoying</em> this.</p><p>"And our next category is..." Justin said, and she watched as the wheel spun around and around until it finally landed. "Songs about sex!"</p><p>"Sex?" Aubrey said, and if she wasn't her best friend, Chloe would have laughed at how petrified she sounded. She couldn't really blame her, anyway, since her own mind had gone absolutely blank, which was <em>insane </em>considering how many songs there were that dealt with the subject.</p><p>Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Trebles begin to approach, and she sighed because <em>of course </em>they would beat them to it again. What else was new?</p><p>But then she heard Cynthia-Rose begin to sing and before she knew it, the younger woman had strutted out to the center and claimed the category for the Bellas with "S&amp;M". The Bellas were quick to back up her vocals, with Stacie and C-R going <em>ham</em> with a grinding routine that, honestly, was <em>hot.</em></p><p>Nothing good could last, of course, and one of the Trebles quickly stole back the category. Stacie remained in the middle, though, and when Aubrey went to pull her back into their corner, Chloe saw the younger Bella tell her to wait a moment before she walked back up to the Trebles. And then it was back in their corner, with Stacie stealing it back with some BoyzIIMen with an assist from Fat Amy.</p><p>She should have known that that wouldn't have been the end, though. After all, if there was one category that the Treblemakers would have prided themselves in, it <em>would </em>be the one that dealt with sex. And so when Jesse stepped up to the plate and cut off Stacie with "It Feels Like the First Time", Chloe couldn't even pretend to be surprised.</p><p>Fucking Jesse.</p><p>Chloe watched as Jesse pointed behind them, and she knew that she didn't have to turn around to see <em>who</em> he was pointing at, but she did anyway because she wanted to see Beca's reaction. She expected Beca to look disgusted, or bored, or literally anything that would suggest that she was turned off by his call-out. But Beca just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, a smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.</p><p>And then she did something Chloe would have <em>never</em> expected Beca Mitchell to do.</p><p>She blew him a kiss.</p><p>It was about as sarcastic as a blown kiss could get but Chloe still felt something in her stomach twist and it was all she could do not to wince.</p><p>Chloe Beale wasn't a jealous person. Not really. She hadn't dated much in the past, but she had had plenty of flings, and she always knew that there would more than likely be someone else in the picture at some point. For the most part, she had been fine with that- if it wasn't meant to be, it wasn't' meant to be, after all.</p><p>And that was with <em>dating</em>.</p><p>Beca was just a friend.</p><p>A friend who was blowing kisses towards a Treble. A fucking <em>Treble.</em></p><p>(Aubrey was going to just <em>love</em> that)</p><p>Chloe was about to turn away again, just so that she could focus on something else other than whatever the hell was going on inside of her, when she saw Beca bite her lip and start to run forward.</p><p>And then she started rapping.</p><p>Beca Mitchell started <em>rapping.</em></p><p>Chloe felt her jaw drop at the same time she heard Aubrey gasp. It was spellbinding, the way the words flowed from Beca's mouth steadily and rhythmically, and she hoped that her staring wasn't obvious because <em>holy shit.</em></p><p>It seemed like the rest of the Bellas were just as shocked as she was, though, because after a whole verse, Beca was still the only one facing the Trebles. Chloe knew that she needed to start providing some sort of back-up, but once the shock of the moment had passed, she realized that she couldn't even place the song that Beca had chosen. Her stomach dropped when Beca looked back towards them over her shoulder, her eyes pleading for <em>someone </em>to jump in and assist. When it became clear that she was on her own, though, Beca turned back around and finished her verse with a bit about rumpshakers that sounded more like a question than a statement when it left her lips.</p><p>"Rump...shakers?" Chloe heard Aubrey whisper next to her, and if the situation wasn't so dire, she would have burst out laughing right then and there. But Beca was turning back around towards them, a wide smile on her face but a familiar look in her eyes that Chloe thought might have been fear.</p><p>But Beca didn't give up.</p><p>Instead, she started singing. And after a moment, Chloe heard Fat Amy join in, and a few of the younger Bellas started providing back-up beats, and her heart soared as she realized that she was an idiot.</p><p>It was "No Diggity." She fucking <em>knew "</em>No Diggity."</p><p>They were still in the game.</p><p>She began to join in with the backing vocals, unable to take her eyes off of Beca as she led the rest of the Bellas in the chorus. The freshman was electrifying; her voice commanded the attention of everyone in the pool, and even though she wasn't pulling off flashy moves like Lily pretending to shoot a rifle or Fat Amy flipping the bird towards the Trebles, she remained the focal point of the performance.</p><p>More voices began to join in, adding layers of vocals and support that Chloe had never heard before at a riff-off. She watched as Beca turned slowly, the smile on her face only growing wider as she took in the atmosphere around them.</p><p>Out of the corner of her eye, Chloe caught sight of Aubrey, who, she noted, wasn't actually singing. Irritation surged through her, and she forced herself to look away so she wouldn't spoil the moment further. She was glad she did, too, because it was at that moment that Beca came waltzing up next to her.</p><p>"We out," Beca finished, throwing in a hand-motion that was both so sassy and filthy that it made Jesse's eyebrows shoot straight up. The Bellas surged around her, cheering wildly as they pushed past Chloe to clap Beca on the back. "I mean, you're welcome," Beca said, obviously aiming her words towards Jesse, and the cheers only grew louder.</p><p>Chloe considered joining them, but as she began to step forward, Aubrey caught her arm.</p><p>"What?" Chloe said, turning to shoot her co-captain a look. Aubrey's brow arched in surprise at the tinge of irritation in Chloe's tone, but she didn't comment on it. Instead, she nodded her head towards Justin, who, Chloe noticed, looked way more smug than he normally did.</p><p>"Something's not right," Aubrey whispered, just as Justin began to walk forward with his hands on his hips.</p><p>"Tough blow, ladies," he began. His words caused the celebration around them to completely cease, the pool growing quiet. "The word you needed to match was 'it'." He pointed towards Beca with both hands. "And you sang 'it's'. You are.." he clapped his hands, joined in by the Trebles. "Cut off!"</p><p>"Are you serious?" Chloe heard Beca say. Jesse moved forward and said something to her that Chloe couldn't hear, but even from a distance she <em>knew </em>it was taunting. God, she just wanted to-</p><p>"I've never heard that rule!" Aubrey yelled, but it was useless. Justin had already handed the Hoobastank microphone over to Bumper.</p><p>"Ladies, ladies, come on." Aubrey turned and began to walk away from the center of the pool. "Come back."</p><p>Chloe fought the urge to go and strangle Justin, even though she really <em>really </em>wanted to because what the <em>fuck</em> was that ruling, even? But she turned and followed Aubrey, because that's what she was supposed to do.</p><p>(And she was good at doing what she was told)</p><p>The rest of the Bellas formed a half circle facing her and Audrey. Well, all except for Fat Amy, who, Chloe noticed, looked like she was about to get into a fistfight with Bumper.</p><p><em>Good for her, honestly, </em>she thought, before Aubrey's voice brought her back to what was going on around her.</p><p>"Before everybody goes to bed tonight, I need you to make a list of everything you did wrong."</p><p>Chloe felt that now-familiar knot in her stomach tighten. She had to be joking, right? They hadn't done anything wrong; for God's sake, that was the best riff-off they had <em>ever </em>been a part of. She was about to say as such, too, when Beca spoke up.</p><p>"Hey guys, what we just did was great, right?"</p><p>There were a few head nods, mostly from Stacie and Fat Amy, who Chloe hadn't even seen rejoin the circle . She found herself nodding as well, but it was pointless because Aubrey was speaking again.</p><p>Of course Aubrey was speaking again.</p><p>"Calm your pits, Beca. We still lost."</p><p>"Yeah, but it was spontaneous. It was <em>awesome. </em>We were actually listening to-"</p><p>"Okay everybody, hands in," Aubrey interrupted. Chloe looked away from Beca, not wanting to see the look on her face because she knew it would just be mirroring the expression on her own. "'Aah' on my count."</p><p>"On three or after three?" Stacie asked, and there was a brief chorus of differing answers. Chloe chimed in as well, though she wasn't even sure of the correct answer anymore.</p><p>"That's not how we do it!" Aubrey said, the irritation in her voice continuing to grow.</p><p>"Why can't we figure this out?" Stacie lamented, and there was another murmuring of agreement from the younger Bellas.</p><p>"Just put your hands in, dammit!" Aubrey hissed. They jumped and quickly stuck their hands in. "One, two..."</p><hr/><p>
  <em> <strong>Bree &lt;3, 10:45 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>That was a mess. Justin totally made that rule up. He has to be in with the Trebles.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Bree &lt;3, 10:46 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>And Beca almost totally embarrassed us with whatever that rap thing was. If Fat Amy hadn't joined in, we would have been laughed off just like the High Notes were.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Bree &lt;3, 10:47 p.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>We're so screwed Chloe!</em>
</p><hr/><p>Beca was seeing red.</p><p>It wasn't the first time that Aubrey had pissed her off; she managed to dig under Beca's skin at least once during every rehearsal, and there had obviously been that time at the first practice where she had straight up told her that she didn't like her. But the anger she had felt then paled to the anger she felt as she left the riff-off.</p><p>They had been good.</p><p>No. They had been better than good.</p><p>They had been fucking <em>great.</em></p><p>They had finally <em>listened </em>to each other, and successfully improvised the layers of vocals they needed in order to make the song work, and for fuck's sake why couldn't Aubrey <em>see </em>that?</p><p>"Bumper is going to get absolutely <em>wrecked,</em>" she heard Fat Amy say from next to her, and she hummed in acknowledgment. She honestly wasn't sure what her friend (she was her friend, right? She thought that they were) was going on about, having tuned her out minutes earlier, but she had grown to learn that if she just nodded along at the right times, Amy wouldn't expect much else from her. "I'm going to squeeze that head of his until it pops like a-"</p><p>"Becaw!"</p><p>Fucking Jesse.</p><p>"Uh oh, it's the boy toy," Amy said, and Beca shot her a look. "What? He's cute, and he obviously wants a piece of that Beca booty."</p><p>Beca blanched and began walking faster. "Please don't ever say the words "Beca booty" again. Also he's not my boy toy, and also...no."</p><p>"Beca, wait up!" Jesse called, and Beca groaned.</p><p>"Jesus Christ." Beca made a sharp right and picked up her pace. "Amy, I'll catch up with you later, okay?" she shouted back over her shoulder.</p><p>"See you later, Beca-gator!" Amy replied, and Beca rolled her eyes even though she knew Amy couldn't see her do it.</p><p>After a few minutes of speed-walking (it was more of a jog, she knew, but Beca Mitchell didn't <em>jog</em>), she slowed down because she no longer heard Jesse calling for her. He probably gave up, she figured, which was perfectly fine with her because other than Aubrey, Jesse Swanson was the last person she wanted to see.</p><p>The sidewalk ahead of her was splashed in an orange and pink glow that was so out of place amidst the yellow lights of the streetlamps around her and she looked up to see a gaudy neon peach hanging above a familiar entrance-way.</p><p>Successfully avoiding Jesse had resulted in her going in the complete opposite direction of her dorm. In fact, she wasn't even on campus anymore; instead, she had ended up standing in front of the Peach Pit without even realizing it.</p><p><em>Fuck it</em>, she thought, and she pushed through the double doors, wincing at the ringing bell that signaled her entrance. The diner was mostly empty, save for a few townies that didn't even bother to glance up from their cups of coffee.</p><p>"Can I help you, sugar?"</p><p>Beca looked to her left to see the same waitress that she and Chloe had had before. "Uh, can I just...sit anywhere?"</p><p>"Sure thing, hon! Pick wherever you like, and I'll bring you over a menu."</p><p>Beca turned and quickly scanned the layout of the diner. The booth that she and Chloe had sat at was empty <em>and</em> it was situated far enough back that she wouldn't be seen by anyone passing by the diner's windows. She made her way over to it and slid onto the bench. A menu appeared in front of her before she even had a chance to shrug off her jacket.</p><p>"Can I get you something to drink while you look that over?"</p><p>Beca thought about asking if they had any beer but she remembered that Chloe had mentioned that she was a freshman the last time, so there was absolutely no way the waitress would fall for it. "A coffee would be great, if you don't mind."</p><p>"Coming right up!" The waitress disappeared as quickly as she had arrived, and Beca picked up the menu.</p><p>Being pissed off usually made her hungry, and this time was no exception. She flicked through the menu and tried to decide whether her anger was more of a "hamburger" or "cheesecake" kind of emotion. The grumbling in her stomach suggested that perhaps it was both.</p><p>The bell above the door rang again and Beca kept her head bent and decided not to bother to turn and look to see who entered. She had purposefully chosen the side of the booth that didn't face the door, anyway, just in case Jesse <em>had</em> followed her.</p><p>Footsteps approached, stopping just behind her booth.</p><p>"Order the peach cobbler," she heard a familiar voice say. "It's to die for."</p><p>Beca let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. "Jesus, Beale."</p><p>She looked up just in time to see a flash of denim and flaming hair slide into the booth across from her. "Jeez, Becs, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."</p><p>"I thought you were Jesse."</p><p>The smile on Chloe's face faltered. "Oh. Are you expecting him? Because I can just-"</p><p>Beca quickly shook her head. "God, no. I'm kinda...hiding from him. I guess."</p><p>"Oh?"</p><p>"Yeah." Beca looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and moved her menu out of the way so that the waitress could set her coffee down in front of her. "Thank you..." she strained her neck so that she could read the nametag pinned to the woman's apron. "Nancy."</p><p>"No problem, sugar!" She set down a second mug in front of Chloe. "Chloe Beale! What a sight for sore eyes."</p><p>"Hey, Nancy! Good to see you, too! How's Charles?"</p><p>"Rockin' and rollin' just like usual!" Nancy pulled a small notepad out of her apron. "I'd offer you a menu, darlin', but I think you might have it memorized by now. Do you two know what you'd like?"</p><p>"Peach cobbler all around, I think," Chloe answered, looking at Beca for confirmation. Beca nodded, and Nancy jotted their order down.</p><p>"Great choice! À la mode?"</p><p>"Is there any other way?" Chloe joked, and Nancy shook her head with a laugh.</p><p>"I'll have that out for you two real soon." She collected Beca's menu and turned away, leaving the two girls alone once more.</p><p>Beca gestured towards the coffee sitting in front of Chloe. "Guess she saw you come in?"</p><p>"Guess so." Chloe reached over and grabbed a couple of sugar packets out of their container and offered some to Beca. "So why are you avoiding Jesse?"</p><p>Beca shot her a look as she took a sugar packet from her. "Is that even a valid question?"</p><p>Chloe tilted her head, then shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, he <em>is</em> kinda cute."</p><p>"Well then he's all yours for the taking."</p><p>Chloe watched as Beca dumped the sugar into her coffee. "You're serious."</p><p>Beca glanced up at her with an eyebrow cocked. "Why are you so interested in how I feel about Jesse? Please don't say that Aubrey's gotten to you with all that "toner" shit, because, like I said before, it's not a thing."</p><p>"He likes you," Chloe stated simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.</p><p>Beca fell silent for a moment and considered her words. "Yeah. I know he does." She took a sip of her coffee, looking at Chloe over the rim of the cup as she did. "So what?"</p><p>Chloe held her gaze for few seconds more before she looked down at her own cup."I don't know. I was just curious, I guess."</p><p>Beca took another sip before she set her cup back down. "I don't think I'm obligated to be interested in someone just because they happen to have a crush on me, Red."</p><p>"That's not..." Chloe sighed and rested her forehead against her fist. "That's not what I was implying. I just..."</p><p>"Why are you here, Beale?" Beca interrupted. She was tired of talking about Jesse; hell, she was tired of even <em>thinking </em>about him.</p><p>Actually, she was just tired in general. And the inane back-and-forth that her and Chloe were having was making the headache that had formed at the base of her skull when Aubrey started lecturing them ache worse and worse.</p><p>Chloe dropped her hand and looked at Beca again. "Do you want the real answer, or the answer that will make it sound like I'm a better friend than I probably am?"</p><p>Beca's eyebrows arched in response to both Chloe's words and the weariness she could hear behind them. "Why don't you give me both and I can decide which one I like better?"</p><p>Her response did exactly what she hoped it would do, and she felt her own expression mirror the small smile that formed on Chloe's lips.</p><p>"Okay then," Chloe said. "I'll give you the one that'll make me sound like a better friend, first, then." She paused, taking a moment to curl her fingers around the handle of her cup, and Beca urged her on with a tiny wave. "I followed you here to make sure that you were okay. You know, since Aubrey decided to go all Alice on us again."</p><p>Beca thought about asking about who Alice was, but the smile had disappeared from Chloe's face again and she had a feeling that it wouldn't come back at all if she brought it up, so she didn't. Instead, she took another sip of her coffee and waited a few seconds before she spoke. "And the real reason?"</p><p>Chloe turned her head so that she could look out of the dingy diner window. "I knew Bree wouldn't look for me here."</p><p>"Oh." Beca was going to say more- she really was- but there were suddenly bowls of cobbler and ice cream being thrust in front of them.</p><p>"Peach cobbler, à la mode!" Nancy exclaimed, setting down new spoons on the table with an impressive flourish. "You girls enjoy!"</p><p>"We will, thanks, Nancy!" Chloe chirped back, all smiles and enthusiasm, but Beca knew better because she could still see the frown lines at the corners of Chloe's eyes.</p><p>Beca waited for Nancy to leave again before she shot Chloe a questioning look. The senior didn't seem to immediately notice it, so Beca waited. Finally, when Chloe began to dip her spoon into her cobbler, she looked up and caught the look on Beca's face.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"How do you do that?"</p><p>"Do what?"</p><p>Beca watched her shove the bite into her mouth and waited for her to finish chewing before answering. "Immediately make the switch between being all gloom and doom and being the happiest person on the face of the Earth."</p><p>"I don't..." her words faded off when she saw the disbelieving look Beca shot her. "Look, it's just..."</p><p>"Is it like, I don't know, some sort of coping mechanism or something?" Beca interrupted, and she immediately winced when she saw the blank expression on Chloe's face. "Sorry, I-"</p><p>"People are happier when I'm happy," Chloe said. "So why shouldn't I act happy if it makes others feel better?"</p><p>Beca stared at her for a few seconds, processing what she had said. "You don't do it to me, though."</p><p>She watched as something flashed across Chloe's face; an expression that she couldn't recognize in the brief moment that it had appeared. But then the neutral expression was back, and Chloe was swallowing another bite of cobbler. "You've never asked me to be something I'm not."</p><p>Beca stared at her and tried to process her words and the way that they had wrapped an icy grip around her heart. She had already been angry, mostly at Aubrey and the way she had acted earlier. But now she was <em>furious.</em></p><p>"Aubrey doesn't deserve you."</p><p>Chloe's eyes shot up to meet Beca's gaze. "Excuse me?"</p><p>"You shouldn't have to always fucking <em>pretend</em> just because she-"</p><p>"I didn't say I did it because of Aubrey, Beca." Chloe kept her eyes trained on her for another few seconds, and Beca shrunk back in her booth. "Not everything is because of her, as much as you'd like to think it is."</p><p>"Sorry," Beca muttered, tearing her eyes away from Chloe's freezing gaze. "I just don't want you to be unhappy."</p><p>She looked back up in time to see the sad grin on Chloe's face appear again, and it made her chest ache. "You're a good person, Beca Mitchell."</p><p>Beca was about to protest, but Chloe leaned forward and tapped the side of the bowl in front of her. "You should really eat this before it melts. It's seriously really good."</p><p>"Chlo..."</p><p>"Not now, Becs," Chloe said, scooping her spoon into her bowl. Her eyes met Beca's, and Beca felt her heart skip a beat when she saw how dark the normally sky-blue irises had become. But there wasn't any anger in her gaze that Beca could see; just a sadness that looked so out of place. "Okay?"</p><p>"Okay," Beca whispered. She tore her gaze away from Chloe's and nudged her cobbler with her spoon, her appetite completely gone. But she forced herself to take a bite anyway, because Chloe was watching and the thought of disappointing her was worse than the sour twisting in her stomach.</p><hr/><p>
  <em> <strong>Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 1:13 a.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I forgot to tell you, but you kicked so much ass tonight at the riff-off. I didn't know you rapped!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Beca, 1:17 a.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>That's because I DON'T. It was kinda...instinctual, I guess.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Beca, 1:18 a.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>And thanks, I guess.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 1:21 a.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Well, it was still aca-awesome. No matter what anyone else might say</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Beca, 1:27 a.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Go to bed, Beale, you're talking nonsense</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>Crazy Shower Chick (Chloe), 1:37 a.m.</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>&lt;3 goodnight, Becs</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Come say hi to me over on Tumblr @darthbelle</p></blockquote></div></div>
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